Chanterelle Mushroom-filled Pasta Gratin
Legendary chef Jeremiah Tower creates a dish that delights with flavor and smooth texture using only a few ingredients. Mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and sage fill pasta packets which are cooked in a bubbly sauce of heavy cream and more Parmesan cheese. Chef Tower adds a luxe touch with a drizzle of white truffle oil.
Ingredients
- Filling
- Chanterelles - 2 pounds, fresh (alt. other fresh mushrooms)
- Garlic clove - 1, chopped
- Sage - 1 tablespoon, finely chopped, fresh
- Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Egg - 1
- Parmesan Cheese - 1/3 cup, finely grated
- Dry Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup fine
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Gratin Assembly
- Parmesan Cheese - 1 cup, finely grated
- Pasta Sheet - 3/4 pound, fresh, cut into 3-1/2-inch-by-4-1/2-inch rectangles
- Butter - 1 teaspoon, cut into small bits
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 pint
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- White Truffle Oil - 3 tablespoons
- Nasturtiums - 6
Instructions
To make the filling: Saute the mushrooms, garlic, and sage in the butter in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and saute until softened, then increase the heat again and cook until almost no liquid remains. Season with salt and pepper and let cool. Finely chop the mixture. In a large bowl, toss the mushroom mixture with the egg, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Season again to taste.
To assemble the gratin: Butter a 9-inch-by-12-inch ovenproof gratin dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop each piece of pasta into a different area of the water and cook the pasta to just over the al dente stage. Remove and plunge into a bowl of cold water; remove and drain well.
Sprinkle a work surface with some of the Parmesan cheese. Lay out the pasta separately on the surface. At the bottom of each pasta piece put a large spoonful of filling. Carefully and lightly roll or fold the filling into the pasta, pressing gently to seal. Place each piece into the gratin dish in rows of four. Dot with butter. Ladle the cream over the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese over each piece. Bake 20 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and the cream is bubbling. Turn on the broiler and brown the top.
To serve: With a large spoon, serve two pieces to each person, along with some of the hot cream. Drizzle lightly with truffle oil. Garnish each with a nasturtium blossom.
