Orecchiette with Mushrooms and Sausage in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

• 8 ounces orecchiette (I prefer De Cecco)
• 6 ounces mild Italian sausage (either bulk or links with their casings removed)
• 4 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and roughly diced
• ½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (I used to be a Muir Glen guy, but lately I've been using Cento)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 ounce burrata with black truffles, diced small
• 1 ounce cream cheese
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (I use a microplane, which also makes a nifty zester)
• 1 tablespoon truffle butter
• 1 tablespoon chives cut into small pieces
• salt and pepper

Put the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and add ⅔ cup of boiling water. Let the mushrooms steep for 45 minutes. Drain, reserving the reconstituting liquid, rinse, and dice. Set the mushrooms aside. Put a coffee filter in a funnel set on top of a large glass. Pour the reconstituting liquid through and reserve. 

Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Cook orecchiette according to package directions, but subtract 2 minutes from the cooking time. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Heat a large skillet (I recommend a 12-inch All-Clad D3 skillet) over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and cook the Italian sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When the meat starts to turn brown, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Lightly blot any excess fat remaining in the pan with a paper towel, so as to not disturb any fond that has developed. Add the truffle butter and as it melts add the shallot. Cook the shallot for a couple of minutes. When the shallots start to turn translucent, add the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Cook about 6 minutes or until they soften and start to take on color. Add tomato paste and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Add the wine. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Scrape up the fond with a wooden spoon. Once the wine has reduced to a glaze consistency, return the sausage to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the cream and the reserved mushroom reconstituting liquid.

After the sauce has reduced slightly and begins to thicken, add the pasta, the mozzarella, and the cream cheese. Cook for about two or 3 minutes until the pasta is al dente. If the sauce gets too thick, thin it out by adding pasta water by the tablespoon until it is as runny as you like. (I like it pretty thick.) 

Taste and add additional salt or pepper to your taste. Sometimes I add a dash of Tabasco or a big pinch of red pepper flakes. If you'd like the sauce a little bit pinker, add more tomato paste.

Serve in large pasta bowls. Top with Parmesan and chives. I like to also garnish with a couple of grinds of black pepper.

Option 1: Reduce sausage by two ounces. Finely chop 2 ounces of Salami al Tartufo in a mini-food processor and add it when you add the mushrooms.

Option 2: Steam some broccoli rabe or broccolini and add it to the pasta just before service.

We drank a Pahlmeyer Chardonnay (Napa Valley) 2018. Pahlmeyer makes big wines and, frankly, I was expecting an oak bomb that might not work with the meal. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the oak was restrained, balanced, and well integrated. It’s still a rich and hefty wine, of course. It suggested buttered toast, white peach, Meyer lemon, and vanilla. This ended up being one of the best Napa Chardonnays I’ve ever tasted. I predict this will age well. Got to find more.  Grade: A