Mushroom White Ragu Fettuccini

Its been over 6 weeks since we got back from our late summer trip to Italy. One of the places we visited and fell in love was Liguria, Liguria is a region on the west coast of Italy, we visited a few places here and spent over a week visit little towns along the coast, the most famous being Cinque Terra, but my favorite is Portovenere. Liguria is the birthplace of many Italian specialties, the most popular being Genovese pesto, ravioli and Foccacia but also Crozetti and trofie pasta, Farinata, seafood dishes, Noci sauce and so many wonderful mushroom dishes.

The Italian countryside specially in the fall is all about wild mushroom, this is one of the mushroom pasta dishes we had that we loved. I recreated this recipe from memory and with the help of good old Google, hubby and I agree its pretty comparable. Hope you give it a try.

This white ragu pasta is made with a combination of cultivated and wild chanterelle mushrooms, one of the many delicious Italian recipes we had in Italy. Of course, if you have a hard time getting wild mushrooms use a combination of cremini, shiitake, portobello. Mushrooms are the star of this recipe, a good pound of it goes in this recipe. The major flavors are of herbs, leeks that take center stage and minced turkey for some heartiness. Unlike the traditional red ragú, white ragú is milder and delicate in flavor. The pasta is still luscious creamy from the rich broth that is further thickened by the pasta water.

Mushroom White Ragu with Fettuccine// 4

Ingredients

• 8-12 oz fresh or dry fettuccine 
• 12 oz ground turkey
• 12-16 ounces mixed mushrooms (wild, cremini, chanterelle, shiitake, shimiji)
• 2-3 large garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped, 1 tablespoon
• ½ cup white wine
• 5-6 large sage leaves chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs Rosemary finely chopped
• 1 medium leek or carrot finely chopped
• 1 small fennel finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery finely chopped
• 1 medium onion peeled and finely chopped
• ¼ dairy free or regular milk or cream for richer Ragu 
• 4 cups (500 ml) warmed rich chicken or vegetable broth, I used homemade 
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt for pasta and to taste
• lots of fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 oz Freshly grated Parmesan or Grana

Instructions

1. Finely chop the leeks, onion, fennel, celery, sage and rosemary. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan or skillet and add the chopped vegetables and herbs. Cook until they start to soften.
2. Add the ground turkey and allow the meat to brown well over a high heat, stirring constantly. Add half the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Then add salt, pepper, the bay leaves and 2 ladles of hot stock and lower the heat and simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes adding more stock when the sauce reduces. .
3. Add the milk, and cook for another 5 minutes on a low heat.
4. While the sauce is cooking put a large saucepan of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. 

Cook the mushrooms

5. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped garlic and allow it to soften slightly. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5-10 minutes until they are nearly done. Add the white wine and turn up the heat until the alcohol evaporates. Reduce the heat. If the mushrooms seem dry you can add some broth or pasta cooking water to them.

Finish the dish

6. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. When it’s done, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Mix everything well together and plate. Spoon the mushrooms on each plate equally between 4 bowls. Serve hot with a sprinkling of parsley and grated Parmesan or grana.