Handkerchief pasta with mushroom and truffle sauce
A creamy white wine and mushroom sauce with fresh pasta and golden ceps – this is a decadent dinner worthy of a special occasion.
Ingredients
For the truffle sauce
- 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
- 2 banana shallots, peeled and diced
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 50g/1¾oz dried morels, soaked
- 50g/1¾oz dried ceps, soaked
- 125ml/4fl oz white wine
- 500ml/18fl oz vegetable stock
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
- truffle oil, to taste
For the sautéed ceps with handkerchief pasta
- 1 head cavolo nero, leaves separated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large handful ceps, cleaned and sliced
- 1 handful trumpet mushrooms, cleaned
- 25g/1oz unsalted butter
- 3 sage leaves
- 6 fresh lasagne sheets
- 50g/1¾oz vegetarian hard cheese, grated
- 1 small truffle (optional)
Method
To make the truffle sauce, heat the butter in a large frying pan and cook the shallots, garlic, thyme, bay and both mushrooms over a low heat until softened. Pour in the wine, increase the heat and bubble until absorbed. Add the stock and reduce to three-quarters before stirring through the cream. Bring back to the boil, taste and season. Whizz the sauce a little with a stick blender – leave it chunky rather than blending until smooth.
Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan of salted water and blanch the cavolo nero for 1–2 minutes, then drain.
To cook the ceps, heat the olive oil in a pan and tip in both the mushrooms. Fry over a high heat to get some colour, then add the butter, sage leaves and blanched cavolo nero leaves and cook for a minute or so more.
Boil the lasagne sheets for 1 minute until al dente.
Toss the pasta sheets with the truffle sauce and stir through the mushrooms and cavolo nero. Finish with the vegetarian hard cheese and some grated truffle, if you like.