Orchiette Pasta with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

By Dionysus

This was restaurant quality pasta. The flavors were so rich, and yet the dish was very easy to make. The only change I made was to use bow tie pasta because I could not find orchiette at the store. Still tasted fantastic. Tweaked a bit from the original Emeril Recipe!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces orchiette pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound assorted wild mushrooms, stems trimmed, wiped clean, and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons oregano or Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Preparation

Step 1

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the cream, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Add the pasta, stir to coat with the sauce, and cook until the pasta is heated through, 1 minute. Remove from the heat and divide among 4 serving bowls or plates. Sprinkle each serving with chives and serve immediately.