A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Sausage And Mushroom Tagliatelle


There's room for all sorts of recipes: complex ones with long lists of ingredients, and simple ones which are quick and easy to make. I've just eaten this flavoursome sausage and mushroom tagliatelle for lunch, and it's given me a real energy boost. It's fairly cheap too.

First I fried some sausage in a little olive oil. You need a tasty, coarse-textured one, preferably spicy — I used Welsh Dragon, a mixture of pork, leek and chilli (thank you my wonderful butcher). As always, the final result of the dish will depend on the quality and appropriateness of the contents. Soon I added English streaky bacon (pancetta would be ideal), then mushrooms, pine nuts, garlic and chilli. Meanwhile I boiled some fresh egg tagliatelle in salted water (a good-quality dried pasta would do equally as well). After deglazing with a little balsamic vinegar (wine even better) it was ready to eat. You could scatter some grated Parmesan over, but it's not really necessary. What is important is plenty of black pepper and chopped parsley (in my case straight from the garden!)

I'm always fascinated which ingredients go together, which don't, and how sometimes just adding one or two extra things to a dish can ruin it if you don't know what you're doing (often in my case). For instance, I feel instinctively that lemon or tomato, other classic Italian staples, would detract from this particular plate — yet why? Sometimes less is more — and sometimes more is more, as in a tagine or paella.

I'm very much drawn to the Chinese method of balancing flavours —  a Chinese meal ideally incorporating elements of sour, sweet, bitter, pungent and salty. So healthy and satisfying.

6 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

Shall try this Robert. I think one has to experiment once in a while - sometimes things work, sometimes they don't but usually it is eatable.

WFT Nobby said...

Mmm. Sounds worth trying - simple and tasty. Thanks!
Gail.

George said...

This looks splendid, Robert, and I think I could make this dish with spicy chicken sausage, which we eat often. At the rate you're going, perhaps you should consider a recipe book, "Soul Food of the Solitary Walker," to be placed next to "Raining Quinces."

Rosaria Williams said...

Wonderful!

am said...

Your meals look delicious. I enjoy when you post about food. In the last few weeks I've been craving avocados -- just plain avocados eaten in the shell (I guess that is what it is called) -- up to 3 a day. Another food I've been craving is something called yam pakoras. Our local food co-op's cafe makes them and sells them in the deli:

http://www.vahrehvah.com/pakoras-or-bhajyas-1#.U2qt-F5U2f0

Soon we will have fresh local salmon and plenty of local produce.

I like George's idea about a Solitary Walker book of recipes (-:

The Solitary Walker said...

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. Much as I'm flattered by your thoughts on a Solitary Walker recipe book, I don't think I'll be doing one, as my skill in cookery is no match for my enthusiasm, be assured.

Yes, I too like pakoras and bhajis, Am, though I've never had a yam one. And as for avocados — absolute favourites of mine (and great to buy for the backpack and an al fresco Camino lunch!) I like them on their own, or with prawns, or as part of salad.