I’m not sure if you’re allowed to call a sauce that doesn’t contain meat, doesn’t start with a soffritto, and that only cooks for 10 minutes a ragù, and yet because of the concentrated flavour of the dried porcini, this has all the intensity of a meat ragù that has simmered for hours. Anyone who has made the spicy mushroom lasagne from Ottolenghi Flavour will realise what I’m trying to achieve here: an abridged version of that ragù with the same intensity but without the hours chopping kilos of mushrooms (yes, I heard you!). This recipe is inspired by two of my favourite dishes at Ristorante Pizzeria Acone near where I grew up in Tuscany – penne all’Aconese and tagliatelle alla Beppa.
Serves: 2 as a main with leftovers, or 4 as a starter
Season: Year-Round
Ingredients
40g dried porcini
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to serve
3 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped (not crushed!)
1⁄2 teaspoon chilli flakes (or less if you prefer)
10g fresh parsley (stalks and leaves), finely chopped, plus extra to serve
1/3 teaspoon fine salt
1 1⁄2 tablespoons tomato purée/paste
about 50 twists of freshly ground black pepper
250g dried tagliatelle nests
40g Parmesan, very finely grated, plus extra to serve
3 tablespoons double cream
This recipe is reserved for those registered for our AN EVENING WITH: IXTA BELFRAGE event on Monday 18th July at 6:30pm. We will be chatting to Ixta and she will be taking us through how to cook this porcini ragu, right from your kitchen.
Click here to buy tickets.
Read more: MEZCLA
Ixta’s cooking is inspired by the Mexican, Brazilian and Italian flavours she grew up with, and her cookbook MEZCLA is a celebration of them all brought together. With simpler recipes for when you want something more quick and easy, alongside recipes to take your time over, each dish tells a story with its flavours, ingredients and method. Extracted from Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage (Ebury Press, £26) All photography by Yuki Sugiura
— about the author
