Pasta with Porcini Mushroom Cream Sauce and Crispy Kale

This was a very simple pasta and sauce recipe, made with my current favorite mushroom - porcini (also known as ceps or boletes).

I used dried porcini mushrooms (the most easily available kind). I added plenty of water to them in a saucepan and brought it to the boil, covered it. let it simmer a few minutes, then switched it off and let it stand, covered for a while (half an hour is good). I then strained them, saving the liquid and the mushrooms (although I did not use the reconstituted mushrooms here) separately.

I then cooked my pasta (I tried both egg noodles and angel hair with the sauce and much preferred the angel hair) until al dente. Meanwhile, I sauteed (cooked in fat over medium-high heat) a mix of fresh mushrooms in a pan with shallots and a little garlic. I used oyster mushrooms (another favorite), and king oyster mushrooms. I deglazed the pan with some sherry, allowing it to boil away, and then added some of my porcini 'stock', allowing it to simmer, then adding cream and finishing with a little cold butter. Season with salt and pepper, and toss with the drained pasta.

The kale can be cooked at the same time as the mushrooms and pasta. Melt butter in a pan. Add chopped kale (remove ribs) and a little salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and allow it to brown slightly, tossing it when it does so to expose all of it to the bottom of the pan. This results in crispy kale. If you prefer your kale wilted, follow the instructions for wilted swiss chard in the last post (but omit the stems). I served the kale on top of the pasta.