Pasta alla Chitarra with mushrooms is one of my favorite pasta dishes. This is Abruzzo’s signature pasta – made with a pasta guitar (it looks like a harp) to produce squrish-shaped spaghetti.
The sauce is very simple – cooks in about 10 minutes including preparation. When sauces take minutes, I prepare it when the pasta is cooking.
One of my best friends in Rome, Elena gifted me a bag of dried porcini mushrooms. I use them for special occasions and stored in my pantry where they are out of reach!
To restore the porcini back to life – add a cup of porcini to approx. two cups of hot water. Set aside for twenty minutes, draining and rinsing well. Save the flavorful liquid by adding to a next day risotto or a tender roast beef. My grandmother haunts me when I throw out anything – it’s part of my roots!
In a large skillet, heat on medium-low, a drizzle of olive oil and butter (approx. 1 tbsp) and add two crushed cloves of garlic for a minute or until the garlic turns golden. Add the porcini and saute for approx. five minutes. Add one cup of the porcini liquid and a tsp. of tomato paste. Remove the garlic and stir the sauce as the tomato paste dissolves.
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and a handful of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup) to the skillet. Mix the pasta in the sauce before serving. Sprinkle finely chopped parsley (optional).
a presto,
Maria
