Pappardelle with Mushrooms, Peppers, and Prosciutto

It’s been a while since I posted a main dish recipe so here’s a hearty pasta one to satisfy your appetites.

I found this recipe in a magazine a number of years back and since then have created this take on it which I like so much better. If you don’t have pappardelle, you can use any hearty pasta with this such as bucatini or fettuccini.

As I always try to do, there are some notes at the end on ways to change this recipe up.

Pappardelle with Mushrooms, Peppers, and Prosciutto Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of broken-up dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/4 cup olive oil divided in half (2 Tbsps. + 2 Tbsps.)
• 5 slices of prosciutto
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, white and greens, slices
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon coarse freshly ground black pepper
• 12 oz. large portabello mushrooms, sliced then cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 12 oz. pappardelle

Directions

• Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl, cover with 3/4 cup very hot tap water, and set aside.
• While the mushrooms are soaking, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add prosciutto slices and cook, flipping over occasionally, until crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and heat for 1 minute.
• Add peppers, scallions, and garlic, and black pepper and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Squeeze water from the reconstituted dried mushrooms (don’t discard water) and add to the pan.
• Add fresh mushrooms and thyme and stir well.
• In the meantime, cook the pasta but cook it 3 minutes less than the package directions.
• Continue cooking the sauce for another 5-7 minutes or until the fresh mushrooms start to shrink and give up their liquid.
• Add the dried mushroom liquid and the vegetable broth to the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Use a pair of tongs and transfer the pasta to the pan of sauce along with 3/4 cup of the pasta water.
• Crumble in half of the crispy prosciutto.
• Stir well and continue cooking until pasta is done, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in heavy cream and butter and stir one minute more.
• Serve with the remaining crispy prosciutto crumbled on top.

Recipe notes:

• If you don’t have dried porcini mushrooms, a mix of dried wild mushrooms is a great substitution. I’ve used both and I’ve also made it without them but I’ll tell you that the nice umami flavor that they and their juice add to this dish is what makes this dish so flavorful.
• I prefer the big portabello mushrooms in this simply because they’re meatier than the baby ones but you can use baby ones and still create a wonderful meal. Just don’t slice the baby ones too thin so that way, once they’re cooked, they’ve not shrunk up to nothing.
• You can make this vegetarian by omitting the prosciutto.
• If you don’t have prosciutto, bacon works too…trust me.
• The heavy cream and butter are (obviously) what makes the sauce silky and creamy but I’ve made it without the cream and it’s still pretty darn delicious.

I hope you’re all staying safe out there and thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy!