Stranger Foods

ItalianRigatoni alla boscaiola

Serves 4 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 25 mins

Many Italian dishes are named for an occupation, like Spaghettoni alla Puttanesca. In this case, it’s rigatoni in the style of the woodsman. Imagine what a burly, outdoorsy Italian man would eat to warm his bones while out harvesting timber in the forest, or how he might nourish himself before a hunt, and you’ve got this dish: pasta drenched in a cream sauce of pancetta, peas, and mushrooms. The cream gives it warmth, the peas add texture and sweetness, the pancetta delivers a savory note, and the mushrooms—of course—represent the woodsman’s beloved forest. This combination of ingredients offers the perfect burst of energy needed for any difficult task. The dish is earthy, sweet, and powerful, just like you are!

Source: The Pasta Queen

Ingredients

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2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz pancetta, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp roughly chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lb mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces (I like cremini and porcini)
1½ cup fresh or frozen peas, (cook in salted water until tender if using fresh, about 2 minutes)
Sea salt
1 cup dry white wine
2 cup heavy cream
1 lb rigatoni
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for dusting

Instructions

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Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat.
In a large deep sauté pan, heat the butter and pancetta over low heat and cook until the pancetta starts releasing its fat and begins to take colour, about . Add the garlic over medium-low heat and cook until it starts sizzling with little bubbles around it, . Increase the heat to medium-high and add the parsley to infuse the pan with its sweet herbal flavour. Add the mushrooms and peas and season with salt. Add the wine and simmer until the alcohol aroma dissipates and the liquid reduces by half, about . Add the cream and a heavy pinch of salt. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about .
Once the water has reached a rolling boil, season with salt until the water tastes like a seasoned soup. Drop in the pasta and cook until al dente.
Add the pasta to the sauté pan and massage together until the pasta is drenched in this hunter’s sauce, adding pasta cooking water a tablespoon at a time if needed to bind the sauce to the pasta.
Serve immediately with Parmigiano-Reggiano dusted on top.

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