Paglia E Fieno Al Professore

MariaLuisa's Note:

This pasta dish is named after my ddddddh (il Professore), who served as chief taster. I prefer tagliatelle to fettucine -- the noodles are narrower. Prosciutto in Italian simply means ham, and I prefer cooked unsmoked ham for this recipe. Finally, when small cultivated mushrooms aren't available, I use dried porcini mushrooms as explained in the recipe.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 small white fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced prosciutto, julienned
• 1/3 cup plum tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons dry vermouth
• 1 cup barely cooked chicken breast, julienned
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1 pinch powdered red pepper
• salt
• black pepper
• 4 ounces white and green tagliatelle pasta noodles
• grated parmesan cheese, as an accompaniment

Directions:

1. Saute the onion in a wide skillet in the olive oil over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Raise the heat slightly, add the garlic and sliced mushrooms, and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the prosciutto, tomato and butter and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the vermouth and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring often.
5. Add the julienned chicken, cream, worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, red pepper, salt and black pepper. Simmer and stir for a few moments, then turn off the heat.
6. (To substitute the cultivated mushrooms with porcini mushrooms, soak 1/2-1 ounce dried porcini in warm water for 30 minutes. Lift out the porcini and wash 2-3 times in fresh water (porcini mushrooms can be sandy). Drain, chop and add to the sauce with the chicken.).
7. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, al dente.
8. Just before the pasta is done, turn the heat under the sauce to low.
9. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the sauce. Toss evenly and rapidly.
10. Divide the pasta between two heated plates and serve with the grated Parmesan.

Reviews

[VickyJ]

Hi there. I made this for Spring PAC 2009. It was excellent! I didn't have any cream, so I made a cream sauce using a roux and milk, plus the seasonings. It made a great sauce! Thanks for the fantastic italian meal! :)

[Mom2Rose]

Spring PAC 2008: This pasta is INCREDIBLE! I made a piggy of myself!!

[Rinshinomori]

What a wonderfully easy and delicious pasta dish. We thoroughly enjoyed having this along with a simple salad tonight. I could not find tagliatelle and used fettucine for this but I was just amazed at the taste of the sauce coming from simple ingredients. I cut the chicken pieces too big this time and plan on carefully julienne into much thinner and smaller pieces next time. I also cooked 6 oz fettucine (I got greedy) instead of 4 oz and there was enough sauce to accommodate all the pasta. This will become one of our favorite pasta dishes that I plan on fixing often. Thank you MariaLuisa for posting such a wondeful recipe.