This is a great filling for vegetarian pasta like ravioli, tortellini, or sauced pastas like lasagne or ragù.
Ingredients
- 1–2 tbsp butter (or oil)
- 150 g shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and finely diced
- 150 g cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and finely diced
- 1 tsp ground porcini powder (optional)
- 2 shallots, finely minced (~¼ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (~1 tbsp)
- 1 tsp thyme leaves, minced (fresh or dried)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 125 ml (½ cup) dry red wine or dry sherry
- 25 g (~½ cup) Parmesan, grated, plus more for serving
Method
Fry the mushrooms in the butter with a pinch of salt. They’ll release their water, the water will evaporate, and then they’ll start to brown, 15–20 minutes. Keep frying and scraping the bottom as you go so the fond doesn’t burn.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft, still stirring to keep the fond from burning.
Deglaze with the wine or sherry, scraping up all the brown bits. Add the thyme and porcini powder, if using. Stir, taste, and adjust the salt and pepper.
Remove from the heat and let cool partway. Stir in the Parmesan thoroughly. Cool completely before using as a pasta filling.
Notes
- Roll the cooled filling into a log and freeze it. You can then slice it into 5–10 g pieces, depending on the size of pasta you plan to fill.