Freshly made pasta is SO good, but it can be an effort. This homemade orecchiette with creamy garlic, mushroom and wine sauce is kind of the best of both worlds. It does take some time to shape these little pasta ears, but you don’t have to roll out any dough or use a pasta machine. These are shaped by hand, and if you have helpers it could be done very quickly.
For this pasta it is best to use Semolina flour. The pasta is a mix of just the flour and water, so there is a bit of resting time to allow for absorption of the water, but that is all. The first step is to mix the flour and water into a rough ball and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then knead it for a few minutes, and let it rest another 30. This pic is after the first mix. After you knead it it will look smooth.
Once it has rested 30 minutes, cut the dough into about 5 strips. Using your hands, roll each strip out into a rope that is about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the rope into little pieces about 3/4-1 inch long.
Using a butter knife, pull the knife along the counter while pushing down on the dough to create a curl like this:
Most instructions at this point will tell you to invert this curl over the top of your finger to make a cup. I did that for some, but found it easier in the end just to open up the cup a bit. Whatever works! These don’t have to be perfect to taste amazing. Put them onto a flour lined tray until you are ready to cook them.
The sauce for this comes together super quickly and is a mix of mushrooms, onions, garlic, herbs, wine, and cream with a little lemon. It goes so perfectly with this pasta and was so tasty!
Orecchiette in Garlic Wine Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- 450 g semolina flour
- 225 g water
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- chopped parsley for serving
- 1 large package of mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup cream
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Combine the flour and water and mix. Once it comes together knead it a bit until it forms a rough ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes. Knead again for 2-3 minutes until smooth, wrap in plastic and let rest 30 minutes.
- Cut dough into 5 sections and one at a time (keeping the others covered in plastic wrap), roll a section into a long rope about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut off small 3/4 inch or so pieces. Dust them in flour lightly.
- Using a butter knife, draw each piece of dough across your countertop to create a curl. There are many youtube videos on this technique if you need help. Once you have a curl, open it up by flipping inside out over your finger tip, or just spread it open. Place on a floured baking sheet until ready to cook.
- Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil. When your sauce is cooking, add the pasta and cook for 3-6 minutes, depending on how thick your pasta is, or until it is al dente. You will finish it in the sauce.
- For the sauce, heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and pinch of salt and allow them to cook without moving until they start to release their liquid. Toss them until the liquid is absorbed, then let them really brown. Lower the heat to medium, add a little more oil if needed and add in the onion and garlic.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Add the wine and allow to boil, then add the cream and the dried herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and stir in the parmesan and 1/4 of the water you are cooking your pasta in.
- When pasta is ready, drain it and move it to the sauce. Cook for a few more minutes to reduce the sauce and squeeze over the lemon and give it a final taste. Serve with extra parm and chopped parsley on top.
One thought on “Orecchiette in Garlic Wine Mushroom Sauce”