Spaghetti with Pancetta and Morels

By KDHarmon

Ingredients

• 2 oz dried morels
• 8 oz spaghetti
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta, dices
• 1/2 C shallots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• juice of hale a lemon
• 1 Tbl thyme, minced finely
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Set a couple cups of water to pol. Place morels in small bowl and pour about one cup boiling water over them. Make sure they stay submerged, resting a ladle/wooden spoon on top if needed.

Cook spaghetti.

While spaghetti cooks, heat olive oil in large sauté pan over medium high heat. Wen hot, add pancetta and brown, rendering out the fat for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Add shallots and sauté until translucent.

Remove the morels from liquid, reserving liquid. Slice about 1/4" thick. Add garlic and red pepper to pan and sauté gently for a minute. Add most of thyme, reserving some for garnish and spritz about a quarter of a lemon over mixture. Add morels and sauté until they start to become tender. Pour in about half cup of the soaking liquid, bringing to dish to a bubble. Simmer and reduce liquid by about half.

After sauce has reduced, season with a bit of sea salt and black pepper. Remove from heat and toss with pasta, adding some pasta water if needed.

Garnish with remaining thyme and spritz remaining lemon over dish.

Serves 2 as main course or 4 as first course.