Speck and Mushroom Pappardelle

good speck and mushroom pappardelle pasta made with a simple and incredibly good creamy sauce and fresh ribbons of pappardelle.

We love a simple pasta dish and this speck and mushroom pappardelle couldn't be simpler. Made with few ingredients it's another easy and good pasta dish that's well loved in Italy.

If you aren't familiar with speck, it's a smoked, cured ham that originates from the north of Italy. It's extremely popular in Italy and can be found in every supermarket in all forms from slices, cubes for frying and small blocks. If it's not as readily available in your supermarkets where you are, then check out your nearest Italian deli or specialised food store. Alternatively, you can substitute smoked pancetta cubes which should be much easier to find.

Mushrooms are another love of ours, we mean pretty much all food is (obviously) but these add good flavour and texture to the whole dish. Traditionally this pappardelle recipe calls for Porcini mushrooms which have gorgeous flavour but are expensive and while splashing out on Porcini mushrooms is something we'd do for a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary, it's definitely not how we eat on a normal weeknight. So modest champion mushrooms do the job quite nicely.

To make this simple pasta dish, firstly fry the sliced mushrooms in a little olive oil until browned then add the cubes of speck or smoked pancetta along with finely chopped shallot, garlic, and thyme. Fry for a few minutes then add the cream, let it simmer for a few minutes and thicken slightly. Add salt, pepper and half a tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese and stir. Finally, add the cooked pappardelle pasta and toss through the sauce until evenly covered. Serve.

So simple and incredibly good, it's sure to be a new favourite. We hope you enjoy!

If you've not tried our cheesy speck and mushroom pizza yet then you NEED this in your life, omg it's our favourite pizza..ever and uses the same classic combo with an incredibly good, cheesy base.

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 3.5 oz (100g) speck or smoked pancetta (cubes)
• 10.5 oz (300g) mushrooms
• 1 cup (200ml) cream
• 1 shallot (, finely chopped)
• 1 garlic clove (, finely chopped)
• 1.1 lbs (500g) fresh pappardelle
• a small sprig of thyme
• 1/2 tbsp parmesan (, freshly grated)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper (, to season)

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the olive oil to a large pan and fry the mushrooms until browned. Add the speck or pancetta and the finely chopped shallot and garlic along with the thyme leaves.

2. Fry for a couple minutes then add the cream. Add the fresh pappardelle pasta to the salted water and cook according to package instructions (around 3-4 minutes). Stir the simmering cream sauce for a few minutes until it's started to thicken slightly. Add a pinch of salt, pepper and the grated parmesan. Take off the heat and stir.

3. Drain the pasta and add to the creamy sauce, toss until evenly covered and serve.

Kitchen notes

Please note this recipe was tested and developed using metric measurements all imperial measurements are approximate.