Hen of the Woods Pasta with Creamy Tarragon Sauce
A delicious and rich pappardelle pasta recipe featuring Hen of the Woods mushrooms (maitake mushrooms) in a luscious tarragon cream sauce!
Equipment
- 1 collander
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pappardelle pasta or 1 recipe Homemade Pasta, cut into pappardelle
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 small shallot finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 8 -10 ounces hen of the woods mushrooms bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch black pepper
- 3 ounces dry white wine
- 2 cups heavy cream
- A few drops of good balsamic vinegar ⅛ teaspoon or less
- 1 tablespoon capers rinsed and dried
- 1 tablespoon tarragon finely chopped
Instructions
- Start by heating a large pot of water over high heat. While it comes to a boil, start the sauce.
- For the sauce, heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt completely. Next, add the shallot and cook until it begins to brown, then add the oil and garlic for about 15 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Next, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook. The mushrooms will soak up the liquid, begin to brown a little and then release some moisture. If you need a little more oil at this point you can use a teaspoon or so, but the mushrooms soaking up all of the liquid is normal and you want them to be golden brown.
- Once the mushrooms start to brown, add the wine. Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated/reduced. Next, add the cream and stir. Cook the sauce until it becomes thick and has the desired consistency for your pasta - this will take approximately 15 minutes depending on the size of your pan (larger pan will take less time).
- Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the balsamic vinegar, capers, and tarragon. Taste for seasoning and add a little kosher salt if desired to taste. Keep the sauce on very low heat until your pasta is ready, stirring occasionally.
- Prepare to cook your pasta by first adding a large spoonful of kosher salt to the boiling water. When the sauce is completely done, drop the fresh pasta into your large pot of salted water and cook until al dente (see note for store-bought pasta). This should take about 2-3 minutes. Drain the water from the pappardelle and transfer pasta into the pan with the sauce. If your sauce is too thick, add a bit of the pasta water before you drain the pasta until you reach the desired consistency. Stir the cooked pasta in the sauce to combine and serve!
Notes
If using store-bought pasta, follow the package instructions to cook to al dente. Depending on the cooking time, you can begin cooking the pasta while you are reducing the sauce, but the sauce will hold just fine on low heat while your pasta cooks as well. The last thing you want is overcooked pasta!
Nutrition
Calories: 732kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 14gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 30gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 190mgSodium: 697mgPotassium: 646mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1983IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 129mgIron: 3mg
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