Mushroom Linguine

It was at Rubato's that Pauline and I had this terrific mushroom tagliatelle made by Chef Peter Neo that had me mesmerised for days.

It was off menu and is still so, though I had suggested to the owner to make it part of the regular menu as it was such a beautiful dish of pasta.

Undaunted, I decided to try my hand at my own mushroom pasta creation this weekend, and came up with a linguine version instead.

Cook some linguine and strain it, and run through cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.

In another pan, heat some butter and some olive oil. The oil helps to ensure that the butter does not overcook. Dice some onions and an assortment of mushrooms.

It is best with porcini as this is what I had at Rubato's, but most of the time, I just settle for regular mushrooms as porcini is rather hard to obtain.

Add in the onions first and let it soften and get somewhat translucent. Next, add in the chopped mushrooms and add a dash of white wine. Let the mushrooms soften.

Add in a couple cups of beef stock to let cover the mushroom and onion mixture. Replace beef stock with chicken stock for those who do not take beef, but beef stock gives it a better flavor for this dish.

Let it boil and reduce the liquid by almost half. Add in a butter roux (butter and flour melted down) to thicken the sauce.

Finally, add in the linguine and toss it thoroughly with the mushroom and onion sauce and season with black pepper. Plate the pasta and garnish with some finely chopped parsley. As an option, you can add in grated or shaved parmesan for the extra lift in flavors.

For mushroom lovers, this should be a pleasant and flavorful dish!