Dish of Pasta with Mushroom Chili Sauce
(click to enlarge)

Mushroom Chili Sauce


Italy   -   Pasta all'Arrabbiata

For 1#
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
Pasta
**
1 hr
Yes
This is the sauce traditionally used in Penne Enraged, extracted for use with any pasta. It has excellent flavor and deserves frequent use. Being Italian, the chili part is very mild.




7
1-1/2
2
2
1
1-1/4
5
1
1/2
1
------
1/3

oz
oz
t
T
cl
#


t
#
---
c

Mushrooms (1)  
Bacon (2)
Olive Oil ExtV
Butter
Garlic
Tomatoes, ripe
Basil Leaves
Chili, dried (3)
Salt
Pasta (4)
-- Garnish
Parmesan

Prep   -   (18 min)
  1. Trim MUSHROOM stems fairly short. Slice vertically about 1/8 inch thick.
  2. Cut BACON into small strips.
  3. Slice GARLIC until split open.
  4. Scald TOMATOES in boiling water 1 minute, chill in cold water and peel. Chop small.
  5. Strip BASIL LEAVES from stems.
  6. Crush CHILI.
  7. Grate CHEESE for garnish.
Run   -   (40 min or less, depending)
  1. In a skillet, heat Olive Oil and Butter. Fry Bacon gently until it is crisp. Remove from the Oil and set aside.
  2. Fry Garlic in the oil until medium browned. Remove and discard.
  3. Stir in Mushrooms and fry gently until they have given up most of their water but not shriveled. Return Bacon to the skillet. Fry another 2 minutes, then take off heat.
  4. In a sauce pan, simmer Tomatoes, along with Chili and Basil for about 15 minutes stirring often.
  5. Stir Mushroom mix into the Tomatoes and simmer tightly covered another 5 minutes or so. If needed, simmer more uncovered to adjust to a sauce consistency, but don't take it to dry or you'll lose the fresh taste of the tomatoes.
  6. Season to taste with Salt and keep hot.
  7. Bring plenty of salted water to a boil and cook Pasta the usual way until al dente.
  8. Serve hot with Pasta, with Parmesan on the side (see Note-5).
NOTES:
  1. Mushrooms:

      I suppose these should be Criminis, but regular white mushrooms will do, especially if they've been stored in a paper bag in the fridge a few days and have darkened a bit - which intensifies the flavor. For details see our Fungus page.
  2. Bacon:

      In Italy bacon is usually not smoked, more like our Salt Pork. Many Italian recipe writers recommend soaking American bacon in warm water for a while to reduce the smoke and salt. Personally, I don't.
  3. Chili:

      One presumes this will be one of the common Japones - the Italians are wimps as far as chilis go, and are easily enraged. Well, this is California, so I used one of my bright orange bird chilis, considerably more enragement now, but still not what I'd call "hot". Use your own best judgement. For details see our Chilis page.
  4. Pasta:

      The traditional pasta for this sauce is Penne, but any short shape will work just fine. If you want to use it with long pasta, such as linguini, chop the Mushrooms smaller.
  5. Serving:

      The Italian way of serving would be to mix the sauce with the pasta, sprinkle the cheese over, toss, and serve in small bowls as a pasta course. I don't serve it this way because I'm not Italian. I'm usually serving "American style", as a main course, and want better control of all elements, as well as a more decorative appearance.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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