Pappardelle with Mixed Wild Mushrooms

A mushroom sauce.

This is a fantastic recipe and one of the most delicious dishes ever served at the Culture and Cuisine Club dinners.

Our friends made the pasta, a real treat, and it was light and absorbed the flavors of the sauce perfectly.
The chef suggested a bit less mushrooms–he felt they overpowered the other flavors in the sauce.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 ounce)
2/3 cup boiling water
8 ounces uncooked pappardelle pasta or bucatini
3 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 (4-ounce) packages exotic mushroom blend, sliced or coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon truffle oil
Sage leaves (optional)

Preparation
 Rinse porcini thoroughly. Combine porcini and 2/3 cup boiling water in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain in a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup soaking liquid. Chop porcini.
 Cook pasta with 1 tablespoon salt in boiling water 10 minutes or until al dente; drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, mushroom blend, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in porcini, sherry, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute or until the liquid evaporates.
 Finely grate 1 ounce cheese; crumble remaining cheese. Reduce heat to medium. Stir pasta, 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup reserved porcini soaking liquid, 1/4 cup grated cheese, cream, chopped sage, and pepper into mushroom mixture; toss well to combine. Drizzle with truffle oil; toss. Place about 1 1/4 cups pasta mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 1 tablespoon crumbled cheese. Garnish with sage leaves, if desired.