The Grass Is Always Greener

There are some dishes that my parents made when I was living at home which I can't seem to replicate. There was always something missing, something that wasn't quite right about it which made it quite infuriating - this is one of them. It was adapted from a Nigella Express recipe, a raw mushroom pasta. I had to get this snap while I was at home visiting this weekend in the hope that my next attempt will be as tasty. It really is a great recipe - the salty smokiness of the pancetta mixed with all the other ingredients makes for a very moreish dish. I could eat heaps of it.


Raw Mushroom Spaghetti

To serve 4

500gr spaghetti

10 closed cup or chestnut mushrooms, sliced finely

1 large handful of curly parsley chopped finely

1 tbsp capers, chopped roughly

2 tbsp olives, chopped roughly

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

3 or 4 large pieces of sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped roughly

2 boxes (around 200gr) of pancetta

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Parmesan to grate over

Cook the spaghetti to al dente and drain, reserving some of the cooking water. Fry the pancetta until crispy, and then add all the ingredients to a big bowl and mix well. Add the spaghetti and loosen with the water if needed. Toss well and serve, topping with the parmesan and black pepper.

The heat from the pasta cooks the mushrooms a bit and the oil and water work well to emulsify into a coating so that it's not too dry. There are a lot of strong flavours in this dish, like the raw garlic and the parsley so it's not for the faint-hearted. I love robust flavours so it's perfect for me. Hopefully now I'll be able to successfully make it at home.