In this hearty vegetarian dish borrowed from Milk Street, an umami-rich mushroom sauce combines with tarragon-tossed tagliatelle pasta. Red miso and mild portobellos ground the flavors in earthy richness that contrasts well with a finishing spoonful of chive-seasoned ricotta cheese. It is rich and filling, so a simple side salad makes a nice accompaniment.
Tagliatelle, which oddly enough we were unable to find, is an egg noodle similar in shape to fettuccine, but with a finer texture and richer flavor. Dried versions are often sold bundled in nests. In its place, we substituted pappardelle, where the only difference is in dimension—pappardella is one and a half wider than tagliatelle and slightly thicker (although Cipriani is a very thin pasta).
Milk Street notes that the time table for this recipe is 30 minutes. It took us double that even though our brand of pasta took only 4 minutes for al dente. Not sure why, maybe the prep took longer?? Just want to give you a heads up on that possibility.
TIP: The mushroom gills will give the sauce a murky appearance if left on, so make sure to scrape them off.
Tagliatelle with Portobellos and Chive Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 8 oz. dried tagliatelle
- 4 Tbsp. salted butter, divided
- 2 lbs. portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, quartered and sliced ¼ inch thick
- 2 medium shallots, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3 Tbsp. red miso
- 1/2 cup fresh tarragon leaves, finely chopped
- Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve
Directions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ricotta, chives and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Set aside. In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add the pasta and 2 tablespoons salt and cook until al dente.
- Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and ½ cup of the reserved cooking water; toss to coat.
- Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter until foaming.
- Add the mushrooms, shallots and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and are well browned, about 10 minutes.
- Pour in the wine, scrape up any browned bits and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the remaining 1½ cups reserved cooking water, bring to a simmer and cook over medium-high until the mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Off heat, stir in the miso and remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the tarragon to the pasta and toss, then transfer to a serving bowl. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the pasta. Serve dolloped with the ricotta mixture and drizzled with olive oil.
Recipe courtesy of Milk Street
Accounting for Taste 
1 thought on “Tagliatelle with Portobellos and Chive Ricotta”