I saw these beautiful shitakes for sale, from the good folks at , Turkey Hill Farms at the Farmers Market and I couldn’t resist.

I wanted to add some dried mushrooms and had some Paddystraw in my pantry so I went with those. They worked well because their flavor was delicate enough not to mask the shitakes.

This makes enough for about 1/2 pound of pasta, for 4 small first course servings. I used spaghetti but fettuccine would work great. Put up the pasta water first so you can time the pasta being done right around the same time as the sauce.

Recipe:

1/2 pound shitake
4oz. Dried and reconstituted mushrooms (liquid reserved)
1tbs each extra virgin olive oil and butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 tbs. brandy
1 tbs sliced fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup reserved mushroom water
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese.

Cook onions slowly in butter and oil with a pinch of salt, about 8 min. Add garlic for few more minutes. Add shitakes—saute for about 3 min. Add brandy to deglaze pan. Add reserved mushrooms, broth and liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for about 20 min.

Just before serving add cream, grated cheese and sage leaves.

Put the hot, drained pasta into the pan with the sauce and toss for about 2 minutes.

Serve and enjoy. We drank a simple Orvieto Classico with it and it worked well.