Rigatoni with Mushroom Sauce

By GratefulSea

This is really, really good, but note that the recipe yields enough to feed a hungry crowd (or a couple of teenage boys). Consider cutting it in half.

(Photo is my own, i.e., this is what it really looks like.)

Ingredients

• BECHAMEL SAUCE
• 1 stick butter (or 50-50 blend)
• 1 cup butter
• 8 cups 2% milk
• salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste (don't skimp)
• MUSHROOM MIXTURE
• 2 Tblsp butter, plus 1 stick (or 50-50 blend)
• 1 Tblsp oil
• 3 oz dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups water (to be used later)
• 1-1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms, chopped
• 1-3/4 cup minced fresh parsley, used as 3/4 cup, another 3/4 cup, and 1/4 cup for garnish
• 1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup amontillado sherry (in a pinch you can probably substitute Madeira or Marsala)
• 1 cup, plus another 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 3 pounds rigatoni or other large pasta

Details

Servings 16
Preparation time 60mins
Cooking time 90mins
Adapted from cookingchanneltv.com

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare the dried mushrooms by placing them in a bowl, and cover with 2-3 cups of water. Make sure all the mushrooms are submerged, using a plate or plastic wrap to hold them under the water, and refrigerate for about 5 hours. If time is an issue, soak the mushrooms in 2 cups of boiling water for about 30 minutes (some say this may lead to a more bitter taste). In either case, drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid to use later in the recipe.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a saucepan, melt the butter for the bechamel, and add 1 cup flour, stirring gently to make a smooth paste. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in 8 cups milk. Turn the heat back on to medium, and stir the bechamel until it begins to thicken and come to the boil. Let it bubble for about 5 minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Take off the heat and season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and the oil in a large wide pan. Drain the porcini, reserving the liquid, and chop before adding to the pan with 3/4 cup chopped parsley, 1 tsp dried or fresh thyme, and 3 cloves of garlic, minced. Stir for a couple of minutes then melt the remaining 1 stick of butter in the same pan and add the chopped mushrooms, stirring for about 5 minutes. The mushrooms will appear dry at first but will eventually start to give off some liquid.

Add the porcini soaking liquid, which the mushrooms will largely absorb, but keep stirring and add the sherry and let it bubble away. Turn off the heat when you have a bronzed, syrupy stew.

Stir the mushroom mixture into the bechamel and add 1 cup of the Parmesan and the other 3/4 cup of the chopped parsley. Put a big pan of water on for the pasta, and when it boils, salt it well. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and add to the mushroomy white sauce, stirring it as best you can to get the pasta covered.

Turn into the large roasting pan and sprinkle over the remaining 1 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top begins to turn golden in places.

When the tin comes out of the oven, decorate with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped parsley and some sprigs of fresh thyme.