- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces dried pappardelle pasta
- 8 ounces fresh morel mushrooms (I got mine from Oregon Mushrooms, a very reliable source)
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped into ¼ pieces
- freshly grated parmesan to taste (use a good imported Italian cheese)
Cook pappardelle according to package directions, stopping one minute before it reaches the al dente stage. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain but do not rinse pasta.
Melt one tablespoon of butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add olive oil. Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for about 6 minutes. Push the mushrooms out to the outer edges of the pan and add the shallots and garlic to the center of pan. Cook 1-2 minutes (do not let garlic brown). Mix mushrooms and aromatics thoroughly.
Add sherry. Allow the sherry to reduce to a glaze. Add crème fraîche. Remove pan from heat and stir in the heavy cream. Mix well. Add pasta and cook 1 minute. Add other tablespoon of butter and mix well. If sauce is too thick, dilute it will small additions of the reserved pasta water.
Garnish with chives and parmesan.
Serve with a Chardonnay or, better yet, a Central Coast Viognier.
