Earth Meets Sea
25 August 2010
The combination of mushrooms and seafood is not really the most likely one. But though the flavour of prawns tasting of the freshness of the sea is admittedly a far cry from the somewhat musty, earthy flavour of porcini reminding of a cool forest, I find the couple does really well together, particularly when merged into a creamy sauce. Or maybe it is the very difference of the two that makes this composition so interesting?
The icing on the cake then was a little dash of lemon-flavoured olive oil, which we have recently bought – guess where – at Viktualienmarkt. In fact the olives are pressed together with unpeeled lemons of the same groves, giving the oil an exquisit flavour of lemon zest – a flavour that certainly goes well with both fish and mushrooms.
Porcini & Prawn Cream Tagliatelle
| serves 4 |
| 300g porcini |
| 300g mushrooms (champignons) |
| 250g king prawns, peeled (net weight) |
| 5 or 6 spring onions |
| a hand full of fresh chives, finely chopped |
| 150ml crème fraîche |
| 1 teaspoon of café de paris spice mixture (or some mild curry mixture) |
| a dash of lemon-zest flavoured olive oil (alternatively: virgin olive oil plus some freshly grated lemon zest) |
| salt and pepper |
| some oil for frying |
500g tagliatelle |
Finely slice the spring onions and lightly sweat in a little bit of oil in a deep-ish frying pan. Clean the porcini and the mushrooms, chop and sauté with the spring onions for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly. Season with salt and a teaspoon of some very mild curry mixture (like café de paris), and stir in half of the crème fraîche. Cover with a lid and keep at low heat for another 10 minutes or so (the porcini and mushrooms should be soft but have some bite left in the centre).
Don’t forget to prepare the tagliatelle in the meantime!
Shortly before serving, briefly sear the (peeled and cleaned) king prawns using a separate frying pan.Add to the porcini sauce along with the rest of the crème fraîche as well as the (finely chopped) chives. Make sure not to keep cooking too much after that, as the prawns will get chewy and the porcini overcooked (which would be a real shame).
Serve with the pasta and finish with some freshly ground pepper and a dash of lemon-zest flavoured olive oil (or, in absence of that, some virgin olive oil plus some freshly grated lemon zest).
| Suggestions for Starters |
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