Farafelle with Exotic mushroom sauce

Fall is here and voila a recipe that encompasses many seasonal ingredients to create a sumptuous meal that is easy to prepare and will wow all who eat it!

Ingredients to have on hand for the pasta dish itself and the salad pictured above are:

- 1 cup of exotic mushrooms (porcini, cremini, portabello, shiitaki)- slice them thinly
- 2 organic green onions (finely chopped) or 4 tablespoons of fresh chives, finely cut (use scissors)
- 1 table spoon of olive oil (for sauteing onions and mushrooms)
- 1-2 cups of Italian made, good quality farafelle pasta (bowties)
- 1/4 cup of red porto or marsala or red wine (sweet)
- 3/4 cup of organic sour creme
- 3/4 cup of organic vegetable stock
- seasonings of your choice (oregano, thyme, salt, fresh ground pepper)
FOR THE SALAD (pictured above)
- fresh organic spinach leaves
- organic red pepper cut in slices (bake in oven with olive oil and balsamic oil until soft)
- walnuts, broken up
- shredded parmesan-reggiano cheese
- dressing, made from olive oil, white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp of dijon mustard and salt and pepper

STEP 1: Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pot over medium heat. Add the finely chopped green onion and saute for one minute. Then add the finely sliced mushrooms (see above) and saute them for 2-3 minutes or until soft. At the same time prepare a separate pot with boiling water to cook the pasta and when ready put the pasta in. Note: It usually takes 15 minutes for farafelle to cook.

STEP 2: Add the red porto/marsala to the onion and mushroom mixture and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 2 minutes. Now add in the vegtable stock and stir for 2-3 minutes. Next, add in the organic sour creme and stir constantly so the mixture does not have any lumps and is smooth. (See image below|)

STEP 3: Reduce heat to med/high and add a mixture of flour or corn starch combined with a little warm water (prepare this flour paste ahead of time to avoid it getting clumpy) to the mushroom sauce to help thicken it up.  NOTE: If pasta is done cooking, drain the pasta and keep warm.

STEP 4: Add the cooked farafelle to the mushroom sauce, toss to coat and serve immediately.
Sprinkle each person`s exotic mushroom farafelle with grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil leaves once served. Add salt and peppper to your liking.


Enjoy this devine meal with a delightful salad composed of your spinach leaves, roasted red pepper slices, walnuts, parmesan cheese and the olive oil and white wine vinaigrette! (see Margherita pizza recipe to get a re-cap on exactlyhow to make this dressing)