In Paris right after the Olympics ended this past August, my husband and I were thrilled that one of our favorite Left Bank restaurants was open. Many Parisian eateries had closed right after the Olympic games for the annual French summer holidays. Semilla, on  rue de Seine, is a perennial favorite of ours, so once again we savored the delicious original dishes this casual restaurant offers. My spouse loved his long red Niçoise pepper stuffed with caponata served with a risotto. I savored a dish of house made pasta called “sorpresenie” (a specialty of Emilia Romagna that is shaped like tortellini, but without a filling) accompanied by sautéed wild mushrooms and a Comté cheese foam. Back home a week later, I couldn’t get the pasta dish out of my mind so set out to make my own version.

In place of homemade pasta, I opted for good quality purchased fusilli (corkscrew -shaped pasta) and instead of a foam I made a classic Mornay sauce with Comté cheese.  Finally, since wild mushrooms are not readily available in my groceries, I purchased dried chanterelles, reconstituted them in hot water, and then added them to a sauté of thinly sliced Baby Bellas. The cooked pasta, napped with the sauce, was arranged in shallow bowls and each serving topped with a mound of wild mushrooms and Baby Bellas.   

I served this dish to good friends who had come for a weekend visit, and was pleased with how easily it could be used for entertaining. You can prepare the cheese sauce a day ahead and will simply need to reheat it at serving time. The mushroom mélange can be cooked a couple of hours in advance and left on the stove top at cool room temperature. All that is necessary at the last minute is to reheat the sauce and the mushrooms and cook the pasta. 

The recipe yields four generous servings or five slightly smaller ones. I added as an accompaniment an artisan loaf of bread, heated and sliced. A salad of mixed greens in a lemon vinaigrette garnished with toasted walnuts could follow the pasta. For dessert choose your favorite gelato and some biscotti.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fusilli with Comté and Sautéed Chanterelles

Comté Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups Half and Half
2 cups grated Comté cheese (or Gruyère)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher salt and several grinds black pepper

Sautéed Chanterelle Mushrooms
1 oz. dried chanterelles or porcini or mixed wild mushrooms (See Market tip.)
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter plus more if needed
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil plus more if needed
8 oz Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
Kosher salt

 Pasta
1 pd fusilli (or rotini, penne, gemelli- See Market tip.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tsp chopped fresh rosemary plus 4 or more rosemary sprigs

1.For Comté sauce, in a small, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly, but being careful not to let the flour color. Add the Half and Half and raise the heat to medium. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a simmer, 4 or 5 minutes or more. (Do not let the mixture come to a boil as it could make the sauce break down.) Remove the pot from the heat and stir in cheese, a little at a time, until all has been added. Stir in the fresh rosemary. Season sauce with salt and several grinds of black pepper. Cover and set aside. (Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead; cool, cover the pan, and refrigerate. Reheat, stirring, over medium low heat.)

2.For sautéed mushrooms, place the dried mushrooms in a bowl, and cover with 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Soak until softened, 20 to 25 minutes. Then strain the chanterelles in a sieve lined with a double layer of paper towels and set over a bowl. Press down with the back of a wooden spoon on the mushrooms to extract as much liquid as possible. You should get 1/2 to 2/3 cup of liquid. Reserve the mushrooms and the soaking liquid.

3.In a medium large, heavy skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons each butter and canola oil until hot. Then add the sliced Baby Bellas and stir and cook until they are tender, 4 to 5 minutes or more, adding extra butter and canola oil in equal amounts if needed. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, a minute more. Add the chanterelles and their liquid and cook, stirring often, until the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes or more. Stir in the fresh rosemary and season to taste with scant 1/2  teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper. (Mushrooms can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover skillet and leave at room temperature. Reheat over medium low heat, stirring.)

4.When ready to serve cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water filled 2/3 full to a boil and add the fusilli and 3 teaspoons salt. Cook according to package directions and when al dente, tender to the bite, drain in a colander. Return the pasta to the pot in which it was cooked and add the Comté sauce. Toss well and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

5.Mound pasta in four shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a mound of mushrooms. Sprinkle mushrooms and pasta with additional chopped rosemary and garnish each serving with a rosemary sprig.

Serves 4 with large servings or 5 with smaller portions.

Market tips:

My local whole food sells Vivido brand dried Chanterelles, dried porcini, and dried mixed wild mushrooms for $6.99.  You can also order the Vivido brand online through Amazon.

Fusilli, corkscrew pasta, works particularly well in this recipe since the pasta has many crevices that hold the sauce well.

Copyright Betty Rosbottom 2024