This light pasta sauce topping is an excellent showcase for handmade fettuccine or ravioli. Pasta is tossed in butter, plated and elegantly topped with a combination of sautéed chanterelles, chewy sun-dried tomatoes, briny kalamata olives, plus pine nuts and a shower of grated parmesan cheese. Try this with Three-Cheese Ravioli or any other pasta shape, especially handmade. And be sure to use the best-quality butter you can afford, such as a high-fat European brand like Plugra.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided, more if needed
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms
- 1/2 cup dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained, cut into strips
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
- 4 to 5 portions of ravioli or pasta shape of your choice, preferably homemade
Preparation:
- In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and extra-virgin olive oil over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, cut any particularly large mushrooms in half. Add chanterelles to the skillet and saute, stirring frequently, until mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and olives and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
- Cook pasta in a stock pot of boiling water according to recipe or package instructions and as pasta nears the end of its cooking time, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet, reducing heat when butter begins to foam. When pasta is cooked to al dente, use a slotted spoon or a spider to remove ravioli from pot (or a pair of tongs to remove long noodles), holding the pasta over the stock pot to drain pasta as much as possible. Transfer pasta to the skillet with the butter and toss pasta to coat with the butter (This can be done in batches or individual servings if your skillet's not large enough to hold all the pasta at once. Melt more butter in the pan between batches if needed). Place pasta in a shallow pasta bowl, then top with a spoonful of the mushroom mixture, followed by a tablespoon of pine nuts and a tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
This recipe for Chanterelle, Sun-Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Pasta Sauce serves 4 to 5 people.
