However I’ve heard for years and years how the magic of Italian meals is within the simplicity. And I wished to imagine it. So I put aside my inborn inclination for bells and whistles and complication and caught my fork into the tangle of tagliatelle. Then I speared a bit of the porcini mushroom, and I tasted it.

I feel culinary hyperbole is essentially the most annoying factor on the planet, however every thing sort of stopped in that second. Sure, it was the most effective pasta I’d ever had in my life — of this I used to be instantly sure — and I used to be left making an attempt to determine if I even wished to have higher pasta than this … ever.

Sure, it was easy. After the shock of the primary chunk, I spent every subsequent style making an attempt to interrupt down exactly what it was I used to be consuming. I do that on a regular basis with dishes I’d wish to re-create at dwelling. However this one felt like a riddle, as a result of it was all hidden in chic simplicity.

The menu at Trattoria Cammillo, a block south of the Arno River close to the Ponte Santa Trinta, listed the dish as “tagliatelle fatte in casa ai funghi porcini freschi.” I didn’t want a translation app to glean that the pasta was made in home and that the mushrooms had been contemporary.

That dish had fewer elements than its menu description had phrases, I’m assured. The pasta was definitely simply flour and eggs. The sliced porcini on prime had been in all probability cooked in butter — possibly combined with olive oil? — at a low temperature in order so as to add no colour in anyway; they regarded braised greater than sauteed. The sauce holding the pasta collectively was nothing greater than butter and doubtless a number of the pasta cooking water. That water in all probability held all of the salt that went into the dish. There was nothing inexperienced garnishing the plate, and there was no hit of acid to brighten something up. Didn’t want it. Our waiter requested us if we wished some Parmigiano-Reggiano on prime, which after all we did, however my first chunk got here earlier than he supplied, and let me guarantee you, that pasta didn’t want cheese to make it memorable.

That was it. I couldn’t discern yet one more constructing block. It was maddening. All of it sounded practically mundane. Why was it so good?

Once I bought dwelling, I went to work.

I like to make contemporary pasta, however that’s a weekend endeavor. On a random weeknight, I usually fall again on dried pasta, however a dish like this requires one thing a bit of extra delicate and supple, so I grabbed a bundle of contemporary fettuccine from the refrigerated case on the grocery retailer. And I felt assured in my capacity to forge a butter-and-pasta-water sauce that will evoke Cammillo.

The hurdle can be the mushroom. Porcini are sort of the Lamborghini of mushrooms, a singular assertion of meatiness and earthiness nearly immune from substitution. They share some luxurious qualities with truffles, which is smart as a result of they develop wild in the identical locations. They’re onerous to search out contemporary within the States. When you possibly can, they’re normally small, in tough form and value about the identical as that Lamborghini.

I wasn’t going to make use of contemporary porcini. However I wanted one thing to face in for that “funghi freschi” from the menu. For my first strive, I used to be adamant about matching the minimalism. I bought cremini — a.okay.a. Italian brown mushrooms — and delicately cooked them in a shower of heat butter and olive oil simply sufficient to melt them with out searing. I tossed the cooked pasta in and combined in a number of the pasta water.

It was advantageous. It was prefer it was a track with an identical melody, simply severely muted. I wished it loud.

Dried mushrooms are an umami powerhouse. Right here’s easy methods to use them.

The simplicity was my favourite a part of the dish, however I spotted that to emulate a porcini dish with out contemporary porcini, it could want one thing else. I wished so as to add essentially the most taste with the least further effort.

The plain reply was dried porcini. We frequently use that concentrated umami powerhouse as a secret weapon by soaking them, then chopping them up and including them to a soup, sauce or braise together with the steeping liquid. However the texture of reconstituted mushrooms wouldn’t work on this dish. To maintain the feel, I caught with the cremini however seared them more durable to develop some caramelization. To get the suitable taste, I floor the dry mushrooms right into a powder and let it steep shortly, proper within the pan, in a bit of of the reserved pasta water that emulsified with some butter.

I tossed the pasta within the pan, then plated. It was objectively extra enticing than it’s inspiration piece, however aesthetics had been by no means the aim right here. I tasted, and it popped me within the mouth with a shot of earthy umami. I wasn’t on trip, however I used to be pleased.

It wasn’t the identical because the dish I had in Florence. It by no means had an opportunity. One of the best a part of consuming pasta in Italy is that you simply’re consuming pasta … in Italy. However my model will function a memento till I get to return.

Fettuccine con Funghi (Pasta With Mushrooms)

Recent pasta, both home made or the sort offered within the refrigerated case of well-stocked supermarkets, is finest on this dish. You possibly can substitute dry pasta, if essential, following the cooking instructions on the bundle.

Storage: Refrigerate leftovers for as much as 4 days.

The place to Purchase: Dried porcini can be found at well-stocked supermarkets, pure meals markets and on-line. For those who can’t discover dried porcini, you possibly can substitute dried shiitake or a dried medley of mushrooms, however the taste will likely be much less daring.

Need to save this recipe? Click on the bookmark icon on the prime of this web page, then go to Saved Tales in My Submit.

Scale this recipe and get a printer-friendly, desktop model right here.

• 1/4 teaspoon advantageous salt, plus extra for the pasta water
• 1/2 ounce dried porcini (might substitute 3 tablespoons porcini powder; see observe above)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved, or sliced if massive (dry ends trimmed, if wanted)
• 9 ounces contemporary store-bought fettuccine (see observe above)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (might substitute vegan butter, reminiscent of Miyoko’s model)
• Grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optionally available; might substitute vegan parmesan cheese)

Fill a medium saucepan midway with salted water and convey to a boil over medium-high warmth.

In the meantime, use a espresso/spice mill to grind the dried porcini right into a advantageous powder; you need to get about 3 tablespoons.

In a big skillet over medium-high warmth, warmth the olive oil till it shimmers. Add the cremini mushrooms, making an attempt to rearrange them reduce aspect down as finest you possibly can. Sear with out shifting them till nicely browned on the underside, about 5 minutes. Stir the mushrooms and cook dinner till softened, 3 to five minutes extra.

When you stir the mushrooms, add the pasta to the boiling water and stir nicely to make sure the noodles don’t clump collectively. Prepare dinner in line with the bundle directions, 2 to 4 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain.

Switch the cooked mushrooms to a plate and scale back the warmth beneath the skillet to medium. Soften the butter, then add the porcini powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and stir to include. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and stir to mix. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss till coated, including extra pasta water as essential to assist coat the strands. Return the mushrooms to the skillet and toss with the pasta to mix.

Divide amongst plates, ensuring there are a number of mushrooms on prime. Serve with parmesan on the desk, if desired.

Per serving (1 1/2 cups), primarily based on 3

Energy: 402; Complete Fats: 18 g; Saturated Fats: 8 g; Ldl cholesterol: 71 mg; Sodium: 213 mg; Carbohydrates: 46 g; Dietary Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 2 g; Protein: 11 g

This evaluation is an estimate primarily based on out there elements and this preparation. It shouldn’t substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s recommendation.

From employees author Jim Webster.

Examined by Jim Webster; e mail inquiries to voraciously@washpost.com.

Scale this recipe and get a printer-friendly, desktop model right here.

Browse our Recipe Finder for greater than 10,000 Submit-tested recipes.

Did you make this recipe? Take a photograph and tag us on Instagram with #eatvoraciously.