Late summer a couple of years ago, I spent a long, very wonderful weekend in Seattle. I rented the sweetest guesthouse close to my dear friend Debby’s home, and I also hoped for time with my nephew Harry and his girlfriend Tessa (Seattle locals) during my stay.
Harry and Tessa spent Sunday afternoon and evening with me. We went to the end of the Sunday Farmers Market, as I promised we’d see what inspired, and I would make us dinner from that.
We were blessed to meet a family of wild mushroom farmers, closing down for the day. I pleaded for a mixed box of their mushrooms. The man asked his little girl, maybe 6 years old, to pack the box for me as he continued loading up his truck.
After a couple more shop stops, sausages and wild mushrooms morphed into one of the most delicious pastas I have ever created ... so much so that we all ate two bowls, and my beloved guests only got to take a smidge home for leftovers.
We had an idyllic time at my home’s indoor-outdoor dining table, with our delicious pasta, Harry’s homemade bread, salad, and wine. Dessert was improvised with the wild blackberries that Tessa had foraged after we shopped.
During our evening together, we learned that we would all be in Paris in December! Harry and Tessa came to be my very welcome guests in Paris, gratefully my apartment had room for company.
Heaven brought down to earth, times two, in the highest order.
Try my recipe, using the finest Italian sausages, mushrooms, and white wine you can ransom. I dare you to eat only one serving.
Simple Sausage-and-Mushroom Pasta
1 lb whole mushrooms, brushed clean with damp cloth
1 small bulb fennel, trimmed and cut in chunks
¼ cup Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 Italian sausages, hot or sweet
Preheat oven to 400F. Toss mushrooms and fennel with olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper, place in oven-proof skillet or baking dish. Top with sausage links, and place in oven. Roast for 13 minutes, turn sausages over, continue roasting another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cut up ingredients coarsely for adding to pasta sauce later; reserve all pan juices.
1 lb. favorite pasta noodles, cooked al dente + reserved pasta water
2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Juice of one fresh lemon
Fine white or rose’ wine, 1-2 cups
Fresh thyme leaves, optional
Extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing pasta
Freshly grated Parmigiano cheese, optional
Freshly ground black pepper, optional
While sausages are roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil, for cooking pasta. Cook pasta in boiling water for about 10 minutes (per package directions), strain and reserve pasta water.
Prepare sauce while pasta cooks. In large skillet, melt butter with oil over medium-high heat. Cook diced shallot until soft, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, cook for another minute; do not let garlic brown or burn. Add lemon juice and about 1 cup wine. Add fresh thyme if using. Stir to create a warm sauce, adding a little more wine – or pasta water -gradually to keep ingredients always cooking in liquid.
Add roasted sausage and vegetables to the pan, along with any pan juices. Stir while adding starchy pasta water and more wine. Stir ingredients through until sauce begins to thicken, then stir drained pasta through the sauce. Continue to “sauce the pasta” until it is coated well and sauce is absorbed; the sauce will continue to thicken as you stir the pasta through.
Transfer pasta to serving bowls, drizzle with a bit more olive oil, and top with grated Parmigiano and black pepper if you’d like.
Makes 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is !
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