Mushroom Market Inspiration

I had a day off today so wondered around Norwich City Centre.  Norwich market is a colourful and eclectic mix of stalls.  Some of the best food in the city centre can be bought there (particularly Pickerings for Sausages and bacon, the Spice Stall and the Cheeseman) but today it was the Fruit and Veg stalls on the front of the market that provided the inspiration for tonight's dinner.

Norwich Market (Image from TripAdvisor)

Mushrooms have been poking their heads above ground for a few weeks now, so when I saw some on the market I wanted to cook with them.  Today the stalls had chestnuts, white and oyster mushrooms.  Combined with some dried porcini there was the basis of a creamy, garlicky pasta sauce.   I had some pancetta in the fridge so chucked that in as well.  I also made my own pasta this time, something I really should do more often.

Mushrooms as Inspiration for Tea

Ingredients:

25g Butter
300g Mixed Mushrooms sliced
50g Pancetta
Garlic (about 3 cloves but adjust to taste)
A splash of Brandy
Cream
Salt
Pepper
Pasta (- something long e.g. Tagliatelle or Fettucini)

Method:

Melt the butter and fry the pancetta till it starts to crisp then tip in a splash of brandy to release all the flavour from the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the mushrooms and garlic with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and cook over a medium heat.  Toss the drained pasta through the mushrooms and add enough cream to pull everything together.  Check the seasoning and serve topped with a little grated parmesan

It would have benefitted from some parsley and white wine (instead of the brandy) added to the sauce to cut the richness, and maybe a breadcrumb topping for some crunch - but it worked quite well for comfort food on a wet, grey, September evening.