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This pasta dish with sweet white wine, balsamic vinegar, and veggies is incredible. Here’s how it came about. While casting about online for a copycat recipe for Noodles and Company’s Penne Rosa (you can see my version here), I came across the ingredient list for their Pasta Fresca dish. I’d never actually eaten it before, but I found the ingredients inspiring and created this little number a few nights later. About a month after that, I had the chance to order the ‘real’ Pasta Fresca at Noodles and Company, and discovered there was pretty much no likeness between their dish and mine. Similar ingredients, but completely different flavor profiles. Now I would have my version over theirs any day, but all I can say it make it and judge for yourselves–it’s simple and fresh and you will just love it. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients

(Serves 3)

1/2 lb angel hair pasta

2 TBS olive oil

5-6 cloves garlic, sliced

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

6 roma tomatoes

1 red onion

salt to taste

ground black pepper

1 tsp cracked black peppercorns (heaping)

1/2 c sweet white wine (moscato)

1/3 c heavy whipping cream

5 oz baby spinach

handful basil leaves

Shaved Parmesan, to serve

First, chop all the ingredients: the onion . . .

. . . the tomatoes . . .

. . . and the garlic. Though I do like to thinly slice my garlic for this instead of mincing it.

You can also roughly chop the basil at this point, though that won’t go in until the end. Save a couple leaves to do some chiffonade. It will make everything prettier when you serve it.

While we’re at it prepping ingredients, let’s measure out those black peppercorns and give them a bashing with the old mortar and pestle. If you look closely, peppercorns are wrinkly and hilarious. Sometimes I like to eat one whole. It lights my mouth on fire, and also fills it with an almost lemony tang. If I were in the wilderness with no toothbrush, I would grab a peppercorn from a nearby peppercorn tree. It really makes your mouth, sinuses, and entire being feel cleaned out. Live on the wild side and crunch a peppercorn!

Hooray! Pulverized peppercorns. There’s nothing as pungent, spicy, and wonderful.

Except for Thai red chilis. Those suckers are just fantastic. Though you won’t find me eating one of those whole! No way.

Heat 2 TBS olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook for 4 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar. Reduce the heat to low and cook 5 minutes. The liquid should be gone at the end, completely absorbed by the onions. You could probably stop here and just eat some delicious balsamic onions. Though since the heavy cream hasn’t yet been involved, stopping here could also be the biggest mistake of your week. Or your life? Hard to say.

Add salt and pepper too, while you’re at it.

Add the chopped tomatoes. Turn up heat to medium high and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the sweet white wine. It’s very important that you use a sweet wine such as moscatel (I’ve seen this labeled “muscat” or “moscato” as well), because a dry white wine would give this sauce a radically different flavor. Take a swig while you’re at it–no one’s looking! They say it’s good for you, too. Seriously! I read it in Martha Stewart Living! Or was that red wine?

Cook for 15 minutes on medium high–it should be at a rapid simmer the whole time. The liquid should mostly reduce by the time you’re done.

Add the cream and cracked black peppercorns.

Cook on medium 3 minutes. Did someone just say “paradise”? Or did I inadvertently speak aloud?

Turn down heat to low and add spinach and basil. Yes, it looks like an invasion of the pot has taken place, but the heat will quickly cut these green intruders down to size.

Cook for 1-2 minutes, until just wilted.

I forgot to add the peppercorns with the cream, so I added them now instead.

Take your set-aside basil leaves and chiffonade them. Here’s how: roll up a leaf nice and tight . . .

. . . and slice it crosswise!

Couldn’t be easier, especially if you’re not trying to hold the knife and the leaf with one hand because your other hand is on your camera’s shutter release. Look at this precious little pile of curly-wurlies.

Will you forgive me if I promise never to say “curly wurlies” again?

Serve the sauce with the pasta, topped with basil chiffonade and parmesan.

Would you just look at this beauty?

Let’s take a generous bite . . .

Hey! Who ate my . . . ?! What the . . . !? Oh . . . *patting stomach* . . . it might have been me. Well, thankfully there’s more where that came from. Time for seconds:

And I’m pleased to say, second verse same as the first: AMAZING!

Click here for printer-friendly version: Pasta Fresca

I’ve been making this recipe for 5 years, since I was first married. I absolutely adore mushrooms, and will be posting another mushroom-alicious recipe very, very soon. This dish is great for large groups of people. I made it for our Bloomington Bible study back in the day, for my in-laws, for my own birthday one year, and for Family Vacay 2009, along with a salad. When I made it for family vacation, the grocery store up North was plumb out of mascarpone, so I substituted cream cheese and it was still delicious. It’s easy and rich, creamy and delightful–a total comfort food.

When I made it a few weeks ago in preparation for this blog post, my husband said:

“You know what would make this perfect?”

“What?” I asked, nervously thinking I had overseasoned, underseasoned, or maybe could have used a little more chopped sage, or salted the mushrooms more when I first put them in . . .

“Bacon,” he said.

So take note–please add chopped fried bacon bits for maximum man-satisfaction.

Ingredients

(Serves 5)

1 1/2 c dry mushrooms (porcini or shiitake)

1 1/4 c warm water

2 TBS butter

1 TBS oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

16 oz sliced white mushrooms

2 TBS chopped sage leaves, plus more for garnish

1 c dry white wine

8 oz mascarpone

5 oz (1 cup) crumbled gorgonzola

2 tsp cornstarch + 1 TBS water

12 oz dried pasta

Optional: diced fried bacon

Soak dried mushrooms 20-30 minutes in the 1 1/4 cups of warm water. I used shiitake mushrooms that I buy in large, cheap bags at the Asian grocery store:

I’ve had this stash of mushrooms for years. In my opinion, they can only be gaining flavor with age. Right? Right.

Don’t fear the wrinkly little dry guys. After a good long soak, they become plump and moist:

At this point, grab the rest of the ingredients. Chop the onion, garlic, and sage. Everything must be ready.

The mascarpone and gorgonzola–I could eat them both by the spoonful, people.

Isn’t the sage be-yewtiful? It’s such a soft and yet vibrant color. I love taking a chomp out of a leaf or two–bitter, but somehow refreshing.

Remove the soaking mushrooms from the liquid and squeeze them out–but save the soaking liquid! It’s important because it will add incredible flavor to the pasta. Chop the soaked mushrooms up nice and fine.

They need a little more chopping . . .

Zer ve go.

Put the pasta water on to boil, and salt it liberally.

Heat the oil and butter together over medium-high until the butter is melted. Add the onion and diced (previously dried) mushrooms.

Cook for about 8 minutes. Lovely flavorful brown bits will start to form at the bottom of the pot.

Add the fresh mushrooms . . .

And the garlic! We can’t be forgetting that.

Add the sage, and then salt generously. Sprinkle in copious amounts of black pepper as well. It’s important to season well at this stage so that the button mushrooms absorb some flavor and release their liquid. Check out the grains of salt in motion:

Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

By now, your pasta water probably came to a boil, and your pasta should be cookin’ away.

Once those 5 minutes have passed, it will look something like this:

Pure heaven!!!

Add the white wine . . .

And now add the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms. Yes, it looks like dirty water, but don’t let that deter you. It contains the magic of the forest.

Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Your pasta should be getting really close by now. Check in on it every now and then. If you’re adding in bacon, that should be cooking in a separate pan at this point as well.

Turn the heat on the mushrooms to low, and stir in both the cheeses, the mascarpone: