Local chanterelle mushroom pasta with creamy Cambozola sauce

Chef Steve Smith
Brewery Gulch Inn, Mendocino

Mendocino chef Steve Smith describes this as "a rich and satisfying dish with lots of mushroom flavor enhanced by tangy Cambozola cheese."

Ingredients

6 tbsp. olive oil
5 chanterelle mushrooms,
stemmed and quartered
4 red peppers, roasted and julienned
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tbsp. minced shallots
1/2 cup white wine
4 oz. Cambozola cheese
1 cup heavy cream
4 oz. fresh spinach
2 tbsp. chopped basil
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 lb. penne pasta, cooked
Roasted pistachios, for garnish

Instructions

In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat oil until almost smoking. Add mushrooms, peppers, garlic and shallots. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add wine and reduce until almost dry. Add cheese and cream and cook until incorporated and sauce is desired consistency. Add spinach (or steamed asparagus), basil, salt and pepper.

At the last minute, add cooked pasta and coat with sauce. Garnish with pistachios.

Serves 4 to 6