This recipe is inspired by Sirop, a wonderful Italian restaurant we visited in Buenos Aires. I don’t believe it’s a traditional Italian (or Argentinean) dish, but I do believe it’s flat-out delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried porcini or other dried mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 pound penne
- One 7-ounce mini wheel of Brie, rind removed, cheese cut into ½-inch cubes
- One 5-ounce container (6 cups) baby arugula, washed and dried in a salad spinner
- Kosher or fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup dried sweet cherries
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
How to Make It
- Put the porcini in a small heatproof bowl and pour enough boiling water (about 1½ cups) over them to cover them. Let soak until softened, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Lift out the mushrooms from the bowl, leaving any grit behind. Strain the porcini liquid through a cheesecloth-lined sieve or coffee filter into a measuring cup. Measure ¼ cup of the strained mushroom liquid and set aside for this recipe. Reserve the rest for another use if desired. Cut the porcini into thin strips and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies fall apart and the garlic is very lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking, until the mixture is smooth and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Add the cream and milk to the mushroom liquid and, still whisking, pour into the roux. Whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the Brie in 3 additions, whisking after each until the sauce is completely velvety smooth. Turn off the heat.
- While the roux is cooking, stir the pasta into the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but with a little bit of bite, about 8 minutes.
- When the pasta has about 1 minute of cooking time remaining, add the arugula to the pasta pot. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta and arugula. Transfer the pasta and arugula to a large serving bowl.
- Add the sliced porcini to the Brie sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the pasta and toss to coat. Sprinkle the dried cherries over the pasta. Serve hot or warm, with grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
