Louella Berryman

It’s cold outside. Let’s just make a bowl of pasta and be done with it. This recipe is pretty easy and super tasty, you could use cheddar if you don’t have parmesan and I can use any mushrooms you like. You don’t have to make the breadcrumbs but I really like adding a bit of extra crunch without eating an entire garlic baguette…

Ingredients

four nests of tagliatelle

100g mushrooms

25g parmesan

a large knob of butter

two cloves of garlic

a handful of breadcrumbs

extra virgin olive oil

a few sage leaves

Method

Boil the tagliatelle according to packet instructions. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a frying pan and chop the mushrooms in half if they’re buttons and quarter for cap mushrooms. Add to the pan and fry until the edges start to get some colour. Add one clove of crushed garlic and fry for a further minute before adding some of the chopped sage.

When the pasta has finished cooking, drain, reserving a little of the pasta cooking water, and add back into the saucepan. Combine with the buttery mushrooms and sage, then grate in the parmesan to form a thin, delicate sauce. Season to taste and set aside.

Using the same frying pan, add a little of the oil and then the breadcrumbs. Fry for a couple of minutes before adding the other clove of crushed garlic. Fry until the breadcrumbs are crisp.

To serve, pile the tagliatelle into a bowl and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs. Top with fresh parsley and an extra grating of parmesan.