Pappardelle and Mushrooms with Truffle Butter Cream Sauce

The inspiration for this dish came from Ina Garten's dish Tagliarelle with Truffle Butter, and while I've tested three different versions at this point, I've settled on a combination of ingredients that is remarkably similar to Ina's original recipe. Perhaps that's not surprising, she is the Barefoot Contessa. I've added lots of sauteed mushrooms and chosen black truffle butter instead of white (I prefer the less pungent, more refined flavor of black truffles). I also recommend using a cheese like Tifulin (a goat's milk cheese with black truffles) instead of Parmigiano Regiano. This dish is incredibly rich and is paired best with a simple salad of arugula (rocket) with a light vinaigrette and a hearty red wine.

Serves 6 as a main course

Ingredients:
2 pounds mushrooms (baby portabellas, shitakes, oyster and/or button mushrooms)
4-6 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces black truffle butter
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
24 ounces pappardelle (or similar egg pasta)
3 ounces Trifulin (or your favorite hard Italian cheese)

Clean the mushrooms using a paper towel to remove any dirt, never wash mushrooms with water. Remove the stems (discard or freeze to use in making stock) and slice the caps thickly.

Sauté the mushrooms in the (regular) butter over high heat, once the mushrooms start to caramelize reduce the heat. Add the cream, truffle butter, salt and pepper (to taste). Bring to a simmer.

Cook the pasta (~3 minutes). Drain the pasta, return to the pot and add the mushroom sauce. Toss to coat and serve with grated cheese.

Buon appetito!