Roasted chestnut fettucini/porcini mushrooms

Ingredients

• Approximately 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• Approximately 1 ½ cups warm water
• Two cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup roasted chestnut puree
• Approximately 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Four portions homemade roasted chestnut fettucini (approx. 1 lb.)
• Freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• Freshly chopped parsley

Soak the mushrooms in the warm water for about one hour. Drain and reserve the liquid. In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and scent it with two crushed garlic cloves. After the oil has been scented (about 2 minutes), remove and discard the garlic. Add the mushrooms, seasoning with a good pinch of salt and the dried thyme. Stir for a minute or two then add the mushroom liquid. Allow the sauce to reduce slightly.

Add the fresh pasta to a large pot of boiling, salted water. The pasta will cook in just a minute or two.

Thicken the sauce with 1/4 cup of roasted chestnut puree. Drain and add the fettucini to the sauce. Toss with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately with freshly grated pecorino romano and chopped parsley.

Roasted chestnut puree

Take any amount of fresh chestnuts. Pierce the top of each nut with a paring knife to allow steam to escape while roasting. Place chestnuts on a large baking pan and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the husks. Place the chestnuts in a large pot and add water until the chestnuts are covered. Boil the chestnuts until they are soft. Remove the chestnuts from the pot with a slotted spoon and puree with a blender of food processor. The result should be a fairly thick paste. If the mixture is too thick, a little of the chestnut water can be added. Allow the puree to cool.

The puree can then be divided into 3/4 cup portions. The roasted chestnut puree freezes well in plastic bags.

Roasted chestnut fettucini noodles

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup roasted chestnut puree
• one egg
• one tablespoon olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixer, or by hand with the well method. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes and allow the dough to rest, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

Divided the pasta in to 8 or 10 smaller balls and roll by hand or with a pasta machine (reducing the thickness to #5 or #6 on most pasta rollers). Allow the pasta to air dry for another 30 minutes or so. Slice to fettucini width by hand or with a pasta cutter.