A Taste of Autumn

As the days shorten and the leaves start to fall, my mind always turns to autumns in Italy. The markets would be bursting with ruby red radicchio from Treviso and pots of chrysanthemums in great mushroom domes of autumnal colours - burnt oranges, yellows and reds. The piazzas would be smoky with damp mists and the earthy, sweet scent of roasting chestnuts.

Autumn in Italy was not a time to lament the loss of summer, but a season to cherish in all its burnished glory of turning leaves, grape harvests, game and mushrooms - the fruits of the earth in every sense. Indeed, it was a time, as the nights drew in, to draw your coat around your shoulders, your scarf around your neck, and to take warm, comforting refuge in good food, good wine and good company.

With this in mind, I concocted the following pasta dish the other day which contained the essence of an Italian autumn while relying wholly on what I already I had in my fridge and store cupboard.

Fettuccine and pappardelle pasta

4 mid-sized field mushrooms, chopped
1 small pack cubed pancetta
About 5 pancetta slices, cut into 1" pieces
Leek (small), sliced

5 small garlic cloves, crushed

Pack of chestnuts (vacuum packed)

Oliver oil

Butter

Amontillado sherry

White wine

I filled a large saucepan with salted water and put it on to boil.

Meanwhile I warmed the olive oil (about a tablespoon's worth) in a heavy based frying pan and then added all the pancetta (I had some cubed and some sliced, so just combined them) and allowed it to cook through.

While this was going on I chopped the mushrooms and sliced the small leek and then added them to the pancetta. Next came the chestnuts which I roughly chopped and added to the mix in the frying pan, together with the crushed garlic. I then poured in a generous slug of lovely nutty Amontillado sherry (Marsala would be perfect too, if you had it about your person), and a good slug of white wine too. Next came a teaspoon of vegetable bouillon (powdered stock) and a couple of pinches of dried sage. I then left everything it to reduce and soften on a moderate heat while I attended to the pasta.

Once the water had boiled I added the pasta - in this case a mix of pappardelle and fettucine as I was finishing up both packets and didn't have enough of each individual one. As long as you cross-reference the cooking times this works fine.

When the pasta is cooked, add some cold water to the saucepan of boiled water which helps remove the starch from the pasta, and then drain it through a colander. When thoroughly drained, add it to the saucepan and toss it around in the sauce so that all the pasta is properly coated.

I served it with a drizzle of lemon oil which tasted fabulous. Truffle oil would also work well if you used it very circumspectly (it can be overpowering unless handled lightly) - or just a good quality plain olive oil. The choice is yours. Finally, some ground black pepper, freshly grated parmesan - and a good glass of red!

Bon appetito!