Penne Aglio, Olio e Porcini

Feeling mildly under-the-weather, I went to the cupboard in search of Two Minute Noodles (we all have our guilty pleasures), only to find I was clean out.  Remaining admirably calm, I grabbed a packet of penne, put the water on to boil and set about deciding what to do with them.

Traditionally, the go-to flavouring for when you don't want to make a sauce, per se, is "Aglio e Olio", simply garlic fried in plenty of olive oil into which you toss cooked spaghetti. Add chili and you have the equally popular "Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino".  When we were kids, though, Mum's variation on this no fuss pasta was to serve noodles with melted butter and parmesan cheese. Delicious.

Today, I felt like mushrooms, so I combined some reconstituted dried porcini with olive oil, garlic, butter, parmesan and fresh parsley and was utterly revived. Please forgive the lack of specific quantities in the recipe below. The recipe is so simple, you can easily go by feel and make as big a serve as you need, adding more or less of the various ingredients by taste.

Dried Porcini - One of my favourite pantry staples

Ingredients

Penne, cooked al dente in plenty of salted boiling water, as per packet instructions.
Dried porcini mushrooms, broken up into small pieces.
Olive oil
Garlic clove, crushed (squashed with the flat side of your knife)
Butter
Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper.

Method

While the water for the pasta is heating up,  put the dried porcini into a mug and pour in enough boiling water to cover the mushrooms. Set aside.

Gently heat up a generous glug of olive oil and the garlic.  The idea is that the garlic flavour infuses the oil.  If it gets too hot and the garlic starts to really brown, take it off the stove and let it continue to infuse with the residual heat.

When the pasta is nearly done, remove the garlic and discard, and return the pan with the oil to a low heat. Add the mushrooms and butter. Reserve the soaking liquid from the mushrooms.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and tip into the pan. Stir to coat with the butter/oil and mushrooms.  Add the reserved soaking liquid and grate over some parmesan cheese.  If the sauce needs help thickening, add a bit more butter.  Grind over some black pepper, and check for salt, adding more if necessary.

Top with some more parmesan and some fresh parsley.