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| Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Pappardelle. I recall back in the 1990's being blown away by a creamy Pappardelle dish from an Italian restaurant in Turangi, New Zealand. I have sought to recreate my memories of the taste of that dish in this recipe. The secret to the sauce is in the pasta water - read on below! Historically, many Italians came to New Zealand hired to work as tunnellers for New Zealand's Central North Island Hydro Power Projects in the 1960's and 1970's. There's a great article about that history here. Certainly, New Zealand needed Italian tunnelling skills and experience for these massive post-World War II projects. The hydro workers, including New Zealanders like my parents, lived in small, isolated huts or houses literally in the middle of nowhere from which small settlement towns and family life grew. Inevitably, Italian cuisine became more popular, and several well-known Italian restaurants flourished in the Central North Island for decades - notably El Burcio's and Valentino's in Turangi, and Alberico's in Tokoroa. Valentino's in Turangi and Alberico's in Tokoroa are still serving fabulous Italian cuisine today. |
For 4 servings:
Pork lard (approx 1 tablespoon) or plain cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
500 gms streaky bacon
250 gms fresh mushrooms (approx)
25gm butter
2 heaped dessertspoons plain flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh milk
300 mls runny fresh cream
Ground pink salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley to garnish
Fresh pappardelle pasta for 4 servings (if you don't have fresh, dried will do. Tagliatelle is also an acceptable alternative if that's what you have.
Method
Heat heavy frying pan to medium-high and add the lard (or plain oil if not using pork lard). Dice streaky bacon to finger width. The rashers will separate on cooking. Wipe mushrooms with paper towel to remove any residual dirt (do not wash them in water).
Cook bacon first, browning it lightly. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Put your water on and boil the pasta in accordance with the directions on the packet. Be sure to add salt to the water.
Turn frying pan heat to low and add butter. Once the butter has melted, sprinkle flour over and mix through. Grate over a good amount of parmesan to your taste. Add milk in small amounts at a time to form a thin roux sauce.
Slowly add the runny cream to the mixture and continually stir as the sauce thickens.
NB: DO NOT boil the cream to death. It simply needs to be warmed and simmered on low for only a few minutes.
Remove the pasta strips straight from the cooking water (without rinsing) into the cream mixture. Reserve the pasta water. In the pan, carefully mix the sauce through the pasta and add approx 1/3rd cup of the cooking water to help thicken the sauce and bind it to the pasta.
To serve:
Serve immediately onto warmed plates. Best hot with extra grated parmesan, ground pepper and finely chopped parsley over the top.