Some pasta shapes seem designed for a particular sauce, and farfalle rigate with a creamy mushroom sauce is one of them. The “rigate” means ridged, and those fine stripes across each little butterfly (farfalla, in Italian) give the sauce something to cling to. La Molisana cuts its pasta through bronze dies, which leaves the surface slightly rough, so the cream and mushrooms hold on to every bow instead of sliding off into the bottom of the bowl.
This is a weeknight dish with a Sunday feel. Mushrooms are browned until golden and savoury, softened with shallot and garlic, finished with a splash of cream and a generous handful of Parmigiano, then tossed through the pasta with a little of its cooking water until everything turns glossy. It takes about 25 minutes and needs nothing more than a green salad alongside.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes | Serves 4
Ingredients
- 350g La Molisana Farfalle Rigate
- 400g mixed mushrooms (chestnut, button, oyster), sliced
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Bono Salvatore
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 80ml dry white wine (optional)
- 200ml double cream
- 40g finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano PDO, 24 months matured or Grana Padano, 24 months matured, plus extra to serve
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
- A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Start the pasta. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the farfalle for around 10 minutes, or according to the packet, until al dente. Before draining, save a mugful of the starchy cooking water.
2. Brown the mushrooms. While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer, working in two batches if your pan is small, and leave them alone for a few minutes until golden underneath. Stir and cook until they are browned and any liquid has cooked away. Crowding the pan makes mushrooms steam rather than brown, so be patient here.
3. Add the aromatics. Lower the heat to medium, add the shallot, garlic and thyme, and cook for 2 minutes until soft and fragrant. If using wine, pour it in and let it bubble for a minute or two until almost completely reduced.
4. Make the sauce. Pour in the double cream, season with salt and plenty of black pepper, and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.
5. Bring it together. Add the drained farfalle to the pan along with the grated Parmigiano and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss everything over a low heat for a minute, adding more water a little at a time, until the sauce is glossy and coats every bow.
6. Serve. Divide between warm bowls, scatter over the parsley, and finish with more cheese, a crack of black pepper and a thread of olive oil.
A note from the kitchen: don’t salt the mushrooms at the start, as it draws out water and stops them browning. Season at the end, once the cheese is in, since it adds its own saltiness. Parmigiano Reggiano gives a sharper, nuttier finish, while Grana Padano is a little milder and sweeter, so choose whichever suits your taste. For a deeper, more woodland flavour, soak a small handful of dried porcini in warm water for 20 minutes, chop them, and add them with the fresh mushrooms, using a spoonful of the soaking liquid in the sauce.
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