PASTA WITH CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE

One of the most endearing traits of the Italian people is their incredible willingness to make the effort to understand what you are saying in your broken Italian and then give you a caress by saying that you speak so well! I have never ever been made fun of because of my Italian in all these years I have spent in this country and they are almost 30 now if I count the years I spent going back and forth to visit a former boyfriend. (Horrid thought this, how can they be so many with me being so young??!!) Nowadays I speak pretty well and can easily make myself understood even though I am sure I make lots of mistakes without even noticing them but am I ever corrected or ridiculed by anyone outside my close family? Never.



And what does this have to do with today's recipe? A lot and I will tell you why. When I still had that former boyfriend who only wanted to speak English to me so that he could practice it, I spent a year in Florence working. I worked as a personal assistant and spoke English there as well so I would never really have practised my Italian, not that it was much to practice as I never have studied the language but still, one picks up words and phrases here and there, if it hadn't been for Rita, the housekeeper. She lived in a flat in the basement of the house with her husband and her young son and she didn't speak a word of English which meant that I had to make myself understood in Italian. I wish I knew where she is now because I would like to thank her for being the reason to why I started to speak Italian, the patience she showed was immense and her kindness had no ends, I spent so many evenings down in her flat, talking and eating. Her dream was to become a designer and we had a deal that she would make my wedding dress but when I married, we were no more in touch so I made it myself.



She did give me recipes though and today's recipe is one of them, I remember how she emphasized the importance of using white pepper and not black as it was vital to the final flavour. This is one of the dinner or lunch savers, few ingredients and really quick to make if you use a food processor. You can use cremini mushrooms or Portobello ones or just common button mushrooms, the choice is yours!





PASTA WITH CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE
2 servings

freshly cooked pasta
200 g/7 oz mushrooms, cremini, Portobello or common button mushrooms
1/2 clove of garlic
a small bunch of parsley
100 ml/0,42 cup fresh cream
salt
white pepper
butter or extra-virgin olive oil

- Put mushrooms, garlic and parsley in a food processor and run for a minute or two until everything is chopped into small pieces. Or chop by hand, it's pretty quick that way too.
- Cook the mushrooms in butter or olive oil over medium heat until the liquid has evaporated.
- Add cream, pepper and salt and continue to cook until creamy, then add to the freshly cooked and drained pasta.
- Serve as it is or with freshly grated parmesan.