Perciatelli

Smokey Lions Mane Pink Sauce

The Pasta
Sure it’s been a dark winter so far for many reasons, but the real stick in my craw has been this insane bucatini shortage. To get bucatini, you may have to sell a first-born child to some pastificio on the dark web that would ship it to you in a box labeled “t-shirts”. Or, you could just run with Severino Pasta and get your mitts on some perciatelli. Perciatelli are just like a bucatini, but a little more hollow giving you that extra slurp action when eating a big bowl of them. Which I recommend you do, and set it to repeat.

The Recipe
Lions mane mushrooms are supposed to be great for your brain and reducing stressors. Which is great and all, but when they taste like lobster, then you gotta enjoy them just as you would those prehistoric sea monsters. So this recipe takes a little tomato, a little cream, and some lions mane mushrooms to create something reminiscent of a pizza place pink sauce. The pro tip is to find a lobster bib or a poncho to catch all the splatter like you are at a Gallagher show as you guzzle these up these bad boys.

Servings: 4 - Time: 30 mins. - Difficulty: 1 - Itsa Easy

Ingredients & Mise en Place

1 lb. perciatelli


1 lb. lions mane - broken and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes - diced

4 garlic cloves - sliced thin

¾ cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. tomato paste

¾ tsp. smoked paprika
2 bay leaves

⅛ cup dry white wine

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

Directions

Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.



Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large deep sauté pan over medium heat and add in garlic. Stir garlic until soft and just before it changes color - about 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, bay leaf, and wine and reduce wine for a few minutes to cook off the alcohol. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the pasta to the water and cook for about 11 minutes or until al dente. 



While the pasta cooks, add in the paprika, tomato paste, and cream to the sauce stirring frequently to prevent any curdling or broken sauce. Once even and smooth add in the mushrooms and stir to coat.



Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of pasta water and add both to the saute pan with sauce. Toss to get a good coating on the noodles. Divide into four portions and enjoy.