Hen of the Woods Pasta with Creamy Tarragon Sauce
Serves 430 mins prep35 mins cook
A delicious and rich pappardelle pasta recipe featuring Hen of the Woods mushrooms (maitake mushrooms) in a luscious tarragon cream sauce!
0 servings
What you need

cocktail onion

balsamic vinegar

heavy cream

ground black pepper

kosher salt

white mushrooms

garlic

shallot

extra-virgin olive oil

unsalted butter

pappardelle
Instructions
Start by heating a large pot of water over high heat. While it comes to a boil, start the sauce. For the sauce, heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt completely. Next, add the shallot and cook until it begins to brown, then add the oil and garlic for about 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Next, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook. The mushrooms will soak up the liquid, begin to brown a little and then release some moisture. If you need a little more oil at this point you can use a teaspoon or so, but the mushrooms soaking up all of the liquid is normal and you want them to be golden brown. Once the mushrooms start to brown, add the wine. Cook until the wine has almost completely evaporated/reduced. Next, add the cream and stir. Cook the sauce until it becomes thick and has the desired consistency for your pasta - this will take approximately 15 minutes depending on the size of your pan (larger pan will take less time). Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the balsamic vinegar, capers, and tarragon. Taste for seasoning and add a little kosher salt if desired to taste. Keep the sauce on very low heat until your pasta is ready, stirring occasionally. Prepare to cook your pasta by first adding a large spoonful of kosher salt to the boiling water. When the sauce is completely done, drop the fresh pasta into your large pot of salted water and cook until al dente (see note for store-bought pasta). This should take about 2-3 minutes. Drain the water from the pappardelle and transfer pasta into the pan with the sauce. If your sauce is too thick, add a bit of the pasta water before you drain the pasta until you reach the desired consistency. Stir the cooked pasta in the sauce to combine and serve!View original recipe
