Mushroom tagliatelle stands as an enduring Italian culinary classic, a symbol of autumn, an unexpected find in a high-end restaurant, far from its familiar appearance. Antonia Klugmann, a brilliant self-taught chef, has ingeniously reimagined them through a sequence of precise, direct, and startling steps.
The dish
No one would expect to find a dish of real mushroom tagliatelle (not deconstructed or semantically played with) in a fine dining restaurant. But it happens at Vencò, where Antonia Klugmann features them in both of her current tasting menus.
"When I conceive a dish, provocation is never the goal," Antonia tells us. "Instead, I start from an idea of combining ingredients, technical exploration of a particular ingredient that intrigues me, or a fully formed concept imagined in my head, triggered by various reasons. Memories, emotions, situations... The mushroom tagliatelle is a combination of these motivations. Technically, it embodies the result of extensive work on mushrooms conducted over the years: drying, broths, reductions. And on the pasta. For a couple of years now, to avoid ruining certain sauces with foreign fats or starches, we use trimmings of fresh pasta to create the glazes with which we then dress the first courses"
An important example for us in this process was the cannelloni filled with chicory and nettle-glazed ricotta from last spring. For us, seeking simplicity in a dish translates into an attempt to simplify the technical steps, in respect of a better functionality in pursuit of flavours. Any unnecessary steps for the desired taste outcome in the mouth are eliminated. Reducing mushroom tagliatelle to its essence was an interesting challenge, especially because each customer compares it with the countless mushroom tagliatelle variations in their memory."
Sommelier Roberto Stella pairs it with a macerated white wine, which changes depending on whether one chooses the local pairing route, between Friuli and Slovenia, or the broader one. "I look for a note that marries the aromatic persistence of the mushrooms, tying acidity and smokiness with not overly young sips, whose tertiary notes can pick up the thread and whose structure retrieves an almost woodland note, with an important nose. So, the somewhat typical underbrush of certain macerated wines, rather than varietal aromas. Locally, it could be Pinot Grigio as well as Ribolla; outside the region, I have had great success with southern orange wines like Falanghina or Etna Bianco, or macerated wines from Eastern Europe. Sweet noses on dry sips. I don't want to clean but accompany, playing and enhancing the mild acidity of the almost raw vegetable and the savoriness."
Antonia Klugmann's Mushroom Tagliatelle Recipe
Ingredients for 4 people
For the dough
- 200g all-purpose flour
- 50g semolina flour
- 10g extra-virgin olive oil
- 150g egg yolks
- 10g water
Method
Work the ingredients in a stand mixer until obtaining a uniform mixture. Let it rest for about an hour. Roll out the dough with a pasta machine and prepare the tagliatelle.
For the broth
- 2.5 liters water
- 175g dried porcini mushrooms
- 25g dried black trumpet mushrooms
- 12.5g dried shiitake mushrooms
- 25g dried chanterelle mushrooms
Method
Soak all the dried mushrooms in water. Infuse at a constant temperature of 50°C for 8 hours, covering with plastic wrap. Strain.
For the rosemary-infused extract
- 1 sprig of rosemary
Method
Extract the oil from the sprig using the GreenStar.
For the smoked mushroom
- 1 porcini mushroom
Method
Clean the porcini mushroom. Slice it thinly vertically. Smoke at high heat for 4 minutes.
For the glaze
- 625ml broth
- 1/4 potato
- 50g fresh mushrooms (porcini, black trumpets, shiitake, chanterelles)
- 12.5g pasta (trimmings from the tagliatelle)
- 12.5g mushrooms (from the broth strain)
Method
Sauté the fresh mushrooms in a stainless steel pan with a drizzle of oil. Add the mushrooms previously used for the broth preparation and the diced potato. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the tagliatelle trimmings. Cook for 15 minutes over moderate heat. Strain and reduce to a glaze.
Dish composition
Cook the tagliatelle in salted boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain and finish cooking in the pan with the glaze. Serve with a few drops of rosemary extract and some hot-smoked mushroom slices.
Address
L’Argine a Vencò Restaurant
Località Vencó n 15 – 34070 Vencò
Tel. +39 0481 199 9882
Mail info@largineavenco.it
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