WINE CAP MUSHROOM RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Whisk the eggs, 150g of flour, a pinch of sea salt, the milk and 2 tablespoons of water into a smooth batter, then put aside. Peel the mushrooms, saving the peelings. Place the mushrooms cap side down in a large non-stick roasting tray, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, for the gravy, peel the onions and finely slice with the mushroom peelings, then place in a pan on a medium-low heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Strip in half the rosemary and cook for 15 minutes, or until dark and gnarly, stirring occasionally. Add the porter and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and let it reduce by half, then stir in the remaining flour. Gradually add 700ml of water, stirring regularly, then simmer to the consistency of your liking and season to perfection. Peel and finely slice the garlic, pick the remaining rosemary, then drizzle and rub it all with a little oil. Remove the tray from the oven and put the mushrooms on a plate for a moment. Working quickly but carefully, pour the batter into the tray, sit the mushrooms towards the centre, then sprinkle over the oiled garlic and rosemary. Return to the oven for 25 minutes, or until puffed up and golden. Serve with the gravy.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and season well with a few big pinches of salt. Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, do some veg prep! Tear off and discard stems of 1½ lb. crimini or button mushrooms, then tear them into quarters (or in halves if small). Transfer to a medium bowl. Lightly smash and peel 6 garlic cloves, then thinly slice. Peel and finely chop 2 medium shallots. (A small red onion will work fine in a pinch.) Coarsely chop 1 cup parsley leaves with tender stems.
• Whisk 5 large egg yolks, 1 large whole egg, 4 oz. store-bought pre-grated Parmesan (about 1¼ cups), and 1½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper in another medium bowl; set aside.
• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high for a good 3 minutes. You want to get the pan very hot since adding the mushrooms is going to lower the temperature of the surface of the pan. Toss mushrooms and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil once in pan to coat in oil. Cook, tossing once every 4–5 minutes (but mostly undisturbed), until mushrooms are mostly golden brown, 13–16 minutes. This will take some time and they will let out a lot of moisture before they start to brown, so stick with it!
• Once mushrooms have been cooking for about 10 minutes, drop 1 lb. orecchiette into boiling salted water and set a timer 2 minutes shy of al dente according to package directions.
• Back to those mushrooms! Once you’ve finished the browning process, reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, shallots, and 1½ tsp. salt. Cook, stirring often, until aromatics are softened but not browned, 30–60 seconds.
• When pasta is 2 minutes shy of al dente, scoop out 2 cups pasta cooking liquid, then drain pasta.
• Add pasta along with 1 cup pasta cooking liquid to mushroom mixture. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to finish cooking the pasta and absorb liquid, about 2 minutes (this is why you’re cooking the pasta 2 minutes shy of al dente; it allows for the flavors to meld as the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce). Remove from heat and let cool 1 minute. (Don't skip this step—if the pasta is too hot when you add the egg mixture, it will turn into scrambled eggs instead of a luxurious sauce.)
• Add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to reserved egg mixture and whisk to combine and loosen eggs. Gradually add egg mixture to pot, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed to loosen things up, until a very creamy, luscious sauce coats all noodles.
• Add parsley and stir again to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning for salt.
• Divide pasta among bowls. Top with Parmesan and a few cranks of pepper.