angelhair pasta with hedgehog mushrooms

We were at the farmers' market on Saturday and found some wild hedgehog mushrooms. Never even heard of them before, so of course, we bought some to try =) The mushroom guy suggested sauteing with garlic or using them in a risotto amongst others. I decided to cook it with pasta ;-)

People have described hedgehog mushrooms as having an earthy taste. I would agree as there were definitely hints of mineral and dirt flavor (not in a bad way). My first impression, however, was stale water (again, not in a bad way..). Hehe, okay, I guess you just have to trust me or find out for yourself that this mushroom is actually not bad. And, honestly, this pasta dish was very refreshing yet flavorful.

I used angelhair pasta because we had some at home, but it turned out to be perfect as the flavor of the dish is quite light so the skinny pasta was a good match. Also, this dish will end up with a little sauce (due to prior soaking of the mushrooms) and angelhair will pick that up when eating. Of course, other pasta that picks up sauce well will probably do fine too. By the way, we soaked the mushrooms in a bowl of salted water for a couple minutes to get out any bugs that may have been hiding. This was necessary because the mushrooms were wild; luckily, no critters were discovers =)

Oh, I also made this dish with a really nice olive oil from UC Davis. We had tasted this olive oil before at various places, but it had taken us over a month to finally walk over to the bookshop to get a bottle!! And this is the first time we used it at home. Apparently, they launched a centennial blend which is not the ones that we have had before, but it did not disappoint. It has a grassy taste (which I think really complimented the hedgehog mushrooms) but it is not overpowering. I highly recommend it (though I think it was a little pricey).

Without further ado, here is our recipe:


Makes 2.

Ingredients
150g angelhair pasta
1/4 lb (115g) hedgehog mushroom
1/2 yellow heirloom tomato
2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper
olive oil
1/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano

Preparation
1. Cook pasta per instruction. Once al dente, drain and return to pot with some good olive oil. Set aside.
2. Saute garlic and mushroom in a good drizzle of olive oil over medium heat for 2-5 mins or until all moisture has evaporated.
3. Toss in diced tomato and stir for 1-2 mins. Do not let it dry out or burn.
4. Season with salt & pepper. Turn off heat.
5. Toss in prepared pasta & grated cheese. Serve immediately.

Enjoy.