Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms, a Recipe by Gennaro Contaldo

Do you like pasta?

I love it! It is so versatile. One day, it can be shaped like a bow and served with creamy pesto. The next, you can have spirals served with tomato and chorizo sauce. The following day, keep the pasta as large, rectangular sheets and you can treat yourself to delicious vegetarian lasagne.

On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to be invited by Bertolli to a cooking demonstration by none other than Italian chef, restaurateur and mentor to Jamie Oliver, Gennaro Contaldo.

Wriggly, Jumpy, my friend Aimee and I left home early, with a quick stop to buy a stroller (long story). Jumpy was over the moon to go on the train (it must be her favourite thing ever!) and Wriggly fell asleep as we arrived at the venue (perfect timing)!

Food at 52 is an amazing place. As soon as you get in, you are transported in another era, where things were simpler, a lot less tech-based and a lot more traditional. The cosy room as we came in had large, comfortable sofas, beautiful furniture and I would have been happy to sit there all day. What awaited downstairs was even more impressive.

Photo credit: Bertolli

The kitchen had pretty much everything I would want in my ideal kitchen. Wooden crates were overflowing with fruit and vegetables, jars with every ingredient you could think of were displayed all around the spacious room. Every utensil imaginable was on display, yet the room did not look cluttered. It looked like a large family’s kitchen, the hub of a home.

Aimee and I were so happy there we could not stop giggling!

A large wooden table had us all sat comfortably to watch Gennaro Contaldo’s cooking demonstration and take on the tips he generously gave us all day. The chef was completely at ease in the kitchen, tossing pasta, chopping, slicing, stirring and tasting.

He did not once stop smiling and was incredibly patient with all of us, signing cookbooks for us, taking photo after photo with each person in attendance, and even worrying about my little Jumpy who could not eat any of the succulent dishes he was putting together, because she cannot have wheat or eggs.

I am not sure how many dishes Gennaro Contald cooked for us, but there were a fair few. My top three for the day were…

Ricotta and Lemon Ravioli

Photo credit: Bertolli

Penne with a Simple Cherry Tomato Sauce

Photo credit: Bertolli

Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms

Photo credit: Bertolli

The latter is the recipe I chose to share today. It is out of this world. I am still thinking about it, four days later.

4 from 1 vote

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Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms

Gennaro was taught to forage for mushrooms at an early age in Italy, and to this day loves to cook pasta dishes with mushrooms! This dish can also be made with wild or cultivated mushrooms like dried porcini, which is easy to source from delis and supermarkets. Recipe credit: Gennaro Contaldo Photo credit: Bertolli

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 400 gr tagliatelle fresh or dried
• 50 gr Bertolli with Butter
• 2 x garlic cloves finely sliced
• ½ red chilli optional, finely sliced
• 400 gr mixed wild or cultivated mushrooms
• 120 ml hot vegetable stock
• Bunch of flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Bring a large saucepan of slightly salted water to the boil.
2. Add the tagliatelle and cook until “al dente.”
3. Meanwhile heat Bertolli with Butter in a large frying pan.
4. Add garlic and chilli and cook on low heat until softened.
5. Increase the heat, add mushrooms and stir fry for a minute.
6. Add stock and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes on a medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked through and the liquid has evaporated slightly. Stir in the parsley.
7. Drain the pasta, add to the sauce with an extra knob of Bertolli with Butter and mix well.
8. Serve immediately.

To learn more about Gennaro’s mid-week meal inspiration and top tips or to try the perfect pasta for yourself, visit www.bertolli.co.uk

Disclosure: I was invited to the event by Bertolli and given a goody bag, but I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. All opinions and photos (otherwise stated) are mine.