Pappardelle Creme Champignon Aka Noodles with a creamy mushroom sauce

This dish was my most favorite in the Italian restaurant on top of my tennis club in Luxembourg. The noodles were soft and the flavor of the mushrooms and creme together was simply divine. I am an ardent mushroom fan, so this was one of the best mushroom dishes I have had. The Cremini mushrooms which are baby portabella have so much flavor and are quite earthy and stand very well to cooking in high temperatures as opposed to regular white mushrooms which are more subtle in flavor. But a combination of both works best.

Ingredients :

Cremini mushrooms and White Mushrooms- 1 cup each (cleaned, washed and sliced)
Garlic- 3-4 cloves minced
Shallots- 2-3 minced
Gorgonzola cheese- 3 tablespoons
Parmesan cheese-3 tablespoons
Heavy cream- 1/4 cup
Pappardelle- or any wide noodles - Cooked and ready to use
Dried Oregano and dried parsley- 1 tablespoon each
Olive oil- 1 tablespoon
Chilli flakes- optional
Vegetable broth or Mushroom broth or white wine- 1/4 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish



Method:

In a large hot skillet, add olive oil and the sliced mushrooms. Ideally, you want them in one layer. Reduce heat to medium once you hear the searing sound. Do not move it for at least 2 minutes, so the mushrooms get browned. After 2 minutes, turn mushrooms around and cook another couple of minutes. Now add the garlic and shallots cook until shallots turn translucent and start to brown. Pour the broth or the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan and get all the flavor from the mushrooms into your sauce. Add Oregano and Parsley and chilli flakes.When the sauce starts a slow boil, add cream and the gorgonzola cheese. Reduce flame to low, so the flavors can blend in. Now is the time to taste and adjust salt and pepper. The Gorgonzola has lot of sodium, so you have be careful not to add to much salt beforehand.Remember the sauce has to be slightly runny as it has to coat the pappardelle. Combine the pappardelle and the mushroom sauce and sprinkle parmesan and minced parsley on top and enjoy.