Creamy Shiitake and Courgette Pasta

Wow, what a weekend. The weather was fantastic and we were surrounded by fabulous people, food, music, wine and venues. Oh my word, the venue we were at on Sunday, Casa Labia in St. James, is something completely extraordinary. We had a table for 20 booked in the ballroom and all dressed appropriately. The food was lovely and the company exceptional. If you are looking for a very special venue for a gathering, you would do well to consider this place.

But too much of a good thing can also leave one pretty drained and Monday seems very dull after the frivolities of the weekend, which is why I felt perfectly justified having a slightly extravagant lunch today. It certainly has brighten up my day as only creamy pasta dishes can.

It was also made a little more exciting as I go to use one of my new kitchen tools, an antique veggie slicer which is still razor sharp and slices wafer thin!

Creamy shiitake and courgette pasta

Serves 4 conservative portions (i.e. two people in my house)

250g of your favourite pasta, cooked and drained

15g pack of dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in ½ a cup of hot water for ½ an hour

1 Tbsp of oil

1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thinly to form half onion rings

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

½ a punnet of courgettes, julienned or cut into ribbons

125ml of cream

Salt and pepper to taste

While your pasta is cooking, gently fry the onions and garlic on medium heat until they become translucent but don’t brown. Add the mushrooms (and the water they soaked in), courgettes, cream salt and pepper and allow them to simmer lightly until the courgettes are just cooked. They should still be bright green in colour.

Serve over pasta and with parmesan if you like.