Porcini Pappardell​e Dough

You know how you just love certain foods from the very first moment you taste it? I fell in love with porcini mushrooms the very first time I had it a loooooong time ago at a fancy schmancy restaurant in Miami. It wasn't even my entree. My BFF's cousin ordered it and I just had a taste and I'll never ever forget it. To me, porcini mushrooms have the mushroomiest flavor of any mushroom. They reach out and grab you by the shoulders and yell, "THIS IS A MUSHROOM!" Powdered porcini takes that flavor and intensifies it by, oh, roughly a hundredfold. You can always make your own porcini powder from dried porcini, or buy it powdered. The Spice House powdered porcini mushroom is finely ground and is easily incorporated into sauces or whatever else you're inspired to make...like porcini pasta dough!


To make the porcini pasta dough I used a basic pasta ratio: 2 parts egg to 3 parts flour, by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, consider getting one. They are inexpensive and simplify baking or working with flour. There are a ton of pasta dough recipes on the Interwebs, some more luxurious than others. Use one that appeals to you, or use this recipe. If you use another recipe, just remember to whisk the porcini powder into the flour before adding the wet ingredients.

Porcini Pappardell​e Dough
by Woo

11 ounces all-purpose flour
5-6 teaspoons The Spice House Powdered Porcini Extra "AA" Dried Mushrooms
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Whisk together the flour and powdered porcini mushrooms. 5 teaspoons will provide a moderate level of mushroom character. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs. Break up the yolks with a fork and start swirling the eggs, incorporating a little bit of flour as you beat the eggs.

Keep swirling and adding flour until the dough is too stiff to stir, then use your hands to finish working the flour into the dough. Then knead for about 10-15 minutes, dust with flour if it's sticky. Fold and turn and press with the heel of your hand, pushing the dough until you have a smooth, satiny dough. Cover in plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Divide the dough into four pieces. Take one piece (keep the other three covered), flatten it a bit and send it through the pasta roller on the widest setting. Pass it through twice, fold into thirds and send it through perpendicular, and pass the dough through again. Continue repeating the steps until you've reached the thickness you like. I used the pasta roller attachment for the KitchenAid stand mixer and did my final pass on the "6" setting. Cut the pasta sheets to a manageable length. Lay out on a floured surface and allow to dry for a few minutes. I cut my pasta by hand because I like a wide or broad pasta, like pappardelle or extra-wide fettuccine.

To cook the pasta, bring about a gallon of well-salted (remember there was no salt in the pasta dough recipe) water to boil in a roomy pot. Add the pasta, stirring to prevent sticking. Cook for one minute and check for doneness. Toss the pasta with your sauce of choice and preferably finish cooking in the sauce for about one minute. The pasta will continue to absorb the sauce thickening it...so remember to keep the sauce slightly runny and warm until it can be tossed with the pasta.