Ixta Belfrage's Ingenious Porcini Ragù

Adapted from Mezcla: Recipes to Excite. You’ll be amazed at the depth of flavor of this vegetarian ragù, made in a jiffy from dried porcinis. Tossed with tagliatelle or other pasta and served with plenty of grated parm, it’s quite the umami bomb. Mezcla was one of our 2022 Best Cookbooks of the Year. This dish was inspired by two of Belfrage’s favorite dishes at Ristorante Pizzeria Acone, near where she grew up in Tuscany.

Mezcla is included in our roundup of Best New Cookbooks of 2022.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter.

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces / 40 grams dried porcini

1/4 cup / 55 ml olive oil, plus more for serving

3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped (not crushed)

1/2 teaspoon chile flakes (or less, to taste)

1/4 cup / 10 grams finely chopped parsley (stems and leaves)

1/3 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

Freshly ground black pepper

9 ounces / 250 grams dried tagliatelle nests

1 1/2 ounces / 40 grams Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, cover the porcini with boiling water and let them soak for 10 minutes. Reserving 5 tablespoons (75 ml) of the soaking liquid, drain, then finely chop the porcini to ground meat consistency. Set aside. Put a large pot of salted water up to boil for the pasta.

2. Put the oil, garlic, chile flakes, parsley and salt into a cold large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Very gently cook for 5 minutes until the garlic is soft and lightly golden, turning the heat down if it starts to brown.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high, then add the chopped porcini, tomato paste and about 20 grinds of black pepper. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, then set the pan aside off-heat while you boil the pasta.

4. Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water for about 6 minutes, until it’s al dente. Reserving about 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) of the pasta water, drain the pasta.

5. Return the sauté pan with the porcini to medium-high heat, then stir in the reserved pasta water and porcini liquid. Bring to a simmer and let it bubble away for 3 minutes. Add half the Parmesan to the pan, stirring until it has melted before adding the rest. Decrease the heat to medium, then stir in the cream, followed by the drained tagliatelle. Toss over the heat until the pasta and sauce have emulsified — about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve at once, finished with as much olive oil and grated Parmesan as your heart desires.