CONCHIGLIE WITH PORCINI AND PARSLEY

Conchiglie is a shell shaped pasta originating from campania, due to it's shape, it is good to use with sauces, although this recipe does not hold sauce, the shape of the pasta proves to be worthwhile host for all the flavours from this dish.

This recipe calls for dried porcini mushrooms, which are reconstituted in boiling water. Pour enough boiling water to cover the mushrooms and a little more, for good measure. Your drained water can then be used as a mushroom stock.
This recipe is suitable for vegetarians.



Serves 4



Ingredients;



2 lts lightly salted water

400g conchiglie pasta (100g per person)

40g dried porcini mushrooms( 10g per person)

60g pecorino cheese(15g per person)

2 medium cloves of garlic

25g unsalted butter

olive oil

a large pinch of mild chilli powder

2tsp fresh lemon

2 tbsp of mushroom stock- reserved from reconstituted mushrooms

A handful of fresh- flat leaf parsley(if using a small hand, please use a large handful)

Sea salt and ground pepper



Method;

You will need to reconstitute the dried porcini mushrooms in boiling water, for approx 30 minutes. Once reconstituted, pass the mushroom liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and reserve.
Bring 2lts of lightly salted water to the boil, once boiling add 400g of conchiglie.

While waiting for pasta to cook, peel 2 garlic cloves, and wrap your parsley into a nice tight bunch, finely chop the parsley and garlic together.
Add 25 g of butter and a splash of olive oil to a large skillet/saute pan, once hot add porcini and cook for a couple of minutes, then add parsley and garlic, keep the pan ingredients moving, after a minute add a pinch of chilli, incorporate, add 2 tbsp of mushroom stock to loosen the ingredients,then add 2 tsp of fresh lemon.

Be cautious when seasoning this dish as you will have salt from the cooked pasta and pecorino, a turn or two of the pepper mill will be more than sufficent!

Check the pasta to see if cooked to your liking(personally i like pasta very firm to the bite), if happy, turn off heat and add a cup of cold water to the pasta pan to stop, the cooking process!
Drain the pasta and add to the saute pan and toss to mix through. (do not rinse the pasta under a running tap, as this will impair the flavour).
Turn onto desired serving wear, and then add freshly grated pecorino, and serve at once.

Note;

These are guideline amounts, feel free to vary. The amounts shown work well in this dish.

Any other hard cheese could be substituted for the pecorino.