Across Italy · No.63 / 103
Pasta alla boscaiola
Pasta alla boscaiola
Fresh mushrooms and porcini simmer with sausage, pancetta, white wine, and tomato for a red boscaiola without cream.
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Meet the dish
An Italian woodman's pasta combining mushrooms, sausage, and pancetta
Woodland mushrooms lead a red boscaiola layered with rendered pancetta and Italian sausage, white wine, and tomato. There is no cream; fresh mushrooms and rehydrated porcini cook in stages to preserve their earthy character.
Pasta shapes to use
- Campanelle, whose ruffles catch meat and mushrooms; tagliatelle or penne also work
Key ingredients
- Mixed mushrooms
- Dried porcini
- Italian sausage
- Pancetta
- White wine
- Tomato
Follow the cooking scenes
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Step 1: Brown pancetta and sausage
Soak dried porcini and strain their liquid. Brown pancetta in a skillet, then crumble in sausage removed from its casing. Once colored, transfer both from the pan.
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Step 2: Cook mushrooms into a red sauce
Use the rendered fat to sauté onion and fresh mushrooms for about ten minutes, then add porcini. Return the meat, evaporate white wine, add tomato and a little porcini liquid, and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
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Step 3: Coat al dente pasta
Boil campanelle in salted water until al dente and transfer it to the reduced sauce. Toss for one or two minutes so the ruffles collect the pieces, then add parsley and Parmigiano.
What to watch for
- Removing the browned meat leaves enough pan area for mushrooms to shed water and color. Crowding everything together steams them.
- Filter porcini soaking liquid to remove grit. Its aroma is concentrated, so begin with an amount that does not dilute the tomato.
What sets it apart
Although cream versions exist, this preparation reduces white wine and tomato around sausage, pancetta, and two kinds of mushroom.