Oh pasta, how I love you. Pasta, or any Italian food for that matter, is my ultimate comfort food choice. I was sent Lidia Bastianich’s newest cookbook: Lidia’s Favorite Recipes– 100 Foolproof Italian Dishes, from Basic Sauces to Irresistible Entrees, which after my first page through, I already knew would be one of my favorite cookbooks. Lidia Bastianich obviously knows her Italian dishes, she’s been in the cooking industry for most of her life; she has a number of best-selling cookbooks, owns 6 restaurants, and is basically the face of Italian cooking on PBS. I’m also happy to let you all know that I will be giving away one copy of this awesome cookbook! More on that after the recipe…
The cookbook makes Italian recipes approachable. A lot of the recipes include childhood favorites of mine, Chicken Parmigiana, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Italian Wedding Soup. There are recipes that the photos look so fantastic I can’t wait to try them (I’m specifically talking about the rice balls. Oh. My. Goodness.)
But I had to test out the cookbook with my favorite Italian staple: a pasta dish. The Tagliatelle with Wild Mushroom Sauce sounded just wonderful. But something didn’t want me to make this recipe. My supermarket didn’t have wild mushrooms or tagliatelle! Well, the show must go on. This is my somewhat adapted version of the recipe, Pasta with Wild Mushroom Sauce.
Ingredients: (makes 6 servings)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced and baby bella mushrooms
- 4 fresh sage leaves
- 1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock to make vegetarian)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh or dry thin pasta (spaghetti, tagliatelle, etc.)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
