Freshly made pasta is easier than many think. I use a food processor method that comes together fast, though the dough needs a two-hour chill before you roll it out. Chanterelles sprout in our forests in the fall and run through November. A simple sauce of shallots, garlic, thyme, brandy and cream shows off the flavor of these wonderful mushrooms. Fresh pasta cooks fast, so stand by, tongs in hand, ready to drain it the moment it’s just cooked through. It’ll be fork-tender and silky, with a gentle bite. Make it while the chanterelles are here.
PASTA
2 cups all-purpose flour (or Italian 00 pasta flour)
3 eggs
SAUCE
3 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz (about 4 cups) fresh chanterelle mushrooms,
brushed of debris and quartered
¼ cup shallots, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
¼ cup brandy
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 lemon
8 oz container burrata cheese, drained
¼ cup Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
PASTA
Place flour in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Engage the lid and have the blade moving as you drop in the eggs, one at a time. Watch closely: the eggs and flour will combine to create a coarse texture, then start coming together. Stop the processor just before dough coalesces into one big blob that no longer moves around in the bowl. When you reach that point, pull that craggy dough out onto an oversized sheet of plastic wrap.
Fold the plastic up over the dough, pulling tight at the edges on all four sides. Compress the dough in the plastic until 1 inch thick. It will become a solid piece of dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using. Unwrap from plastic and place on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to flatten until about 6 x 8 x ¼ inch thick. Divide dough in half crosswise, creating two 4 x 6-inch pieces. Keep the piece you are not rolling covered with plastic.
Using a pasta machine, roll a piece through at the widest setting. This requires patience. You will lift and guide the dough flat through the rollers. Reduce the setting with each pass of the dough, and cut the sheet in half when it becomes too difficult to comfortably lead through the machine. Also, consider the length of the noodle you want and let that guide the size of pasta sheet you work with.
Once the sheet is about 1/16 inch thick (thin enough that you can see the shadow of your hand through it), transfer dough to a linguine cutter or hand-cut to your desired width of noodle. On a Marcato Atlas, that is setting 6 or 7. Other machines number their dials differently, so go by the thickness. If you’ve sufficiently floured the sheet of pasta, you can roll it up and cut it into equal lengths that unfurl into noodles. Place cut noodles on a rimmed sheet pan dusted with flour. Sprinkle a little flour over the mound of pasta to keep noodles from sticking together while you prepare the sauce.
Tip: You can also hang pasta over a suspended string or rack to dry. Drying the noodles on a string is valuable when you are making the pasta well in advance of using the noodles. This ensures they won’t stick together when cooking.
SAUCE
Fill a large pot with water and 1 Tbsp kosher salt and bring to a boil. Place olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chanterelles to the hot pan and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly caramelized and any excess water has evaporated. Add shallots and lower heat slightly. Cook until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme; cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Deglaze with brandy (be careful as the alcohol will often flame, then burn off). Reduce brandy by half, then add the cream. Let it slowly reduce, 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Taste for seasoning and add salt or pepper if desired. Turn off heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until just tender. Fresh pasta cooks quickly, usually 1 to 2 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Taste-test for doneness. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and let it steam for about 30 seconds, then add it directly to the chanterelle sauce.
Turn heat back on to low and mix pasta in sauce. If pasta and sauce look dry, add the reserved pasta water 1 Tbsp at a time, until the sauce loosens and coats the noodles. Taste again for seasoning.
Divide pasta among four plates. Cut lemon in quarters and squeeze one over each plate. Slice burrata as best you can and divide among the plates, finally topping with a sprinkle of Italian parsley. Enjoy!