Ingredients

serves 4

　　4 fat cloves garlic, peeled

　　1 small dried, red chile pepper, or 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon dried chile flakes

　　1 bay leaf

　　2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, plus additional for the pasta

　　3 ounces salt pork

　　1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 1/2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms, such as porcini, cèpes, chanterelles, portobelli, etc., thinly sliced

　　2 cups good red wine

　　1 cup canned tomato puree

　　12 ounces just-made egg pasta

　　1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly pan-roasted

　　1/2 cup just-made bread crumbs, lightly pan-roasted in 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 cup just-grated pecorino

　　

Step 1

With a mezzaluna or a very sharp knife, mince together into a paste the garlic, chile pepper, bay leaf, 2 teaspoons sea salt, and salt pork. In a large terra-cotta or enameled cast-iron casserole over a medium flame, heat the olive oil and sauté the paste for a minute or two before adding the mushrooms, tossing them about in the perfumed fat, permitting them to give up their juices. Lower the flame, add the wine and the tomato puree, bringing the ingredients to a gentle simmer. Cover the casserole with a skewed lid and braise the mushrooms for 1/2 hour, permitting them to plump and turn velvety as they slowly reabsorb their juices and inhale the good wine and tomato liquors.

　　

Step 2

Cook the pasta in abundant, boiling, sea-salted water for 1 minute. Drain the pasta and add it to the casserole with the mushrooms, tossing the ingredients about thoroughly. Cover the casserole and permit the whole to cook over a low flame for 3 or 4 minutes, just so that the pasta finishes its cooking and absorbs the braising liquors.

　　

Step 3

Combine the roasted pine nuts, the olive-oil-roasted bread crumbs, and the pecorino and give the pasta a thick dusting. Carry the casserole to the table, offering more oven-toasted bread and good red wine.

　　A Taste of Southern Italy