Recently, a new supermarket opened near us. When we moved here 15 years ago my little micronabe was “in transition.” The only supermarket within a somewhat long walking distance was part of this low-budget chain that always reeked of spoiled milk, that’s all I remember about it. That and the ox tails. They always had hundreds. Then, somewhat surprisingly, we eventually became something of a supermarket mecca. I think I know why: the commercial rents must be relatively low, there’s more space, and the restaurants are so godawful and insultingly expensive, unless you go fast food.
From this newest, latest supermarket Better Half procured a package of Giovanni Rana fettuccine. The packaging directed me to go to their website for exciting recipe ideas. I couldn’t resist. Here’s one I made in early April, before the heat wave settled in. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS
One package 9 ounce Giovanni Rana Fettuccine (that is what Better Half picked up)
1 head of wild mushrooms (such as maiitake)*
1 cup of shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 cups of crimini mushrooms 2 shallots
1 large handful parsley, extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup crème fraiche
Zest of 1 lemon
- I do not live on Middle Earth nor in the woods of Vermont so I ignored this and used more cremini and shiitake.
PREPARATION
Tear a head of wild mushrooms (such as maiitake) into 2-3 inch pieces. Destem a handful of shiitakes and slice. Slice a bowl of crimini mushrooms and a couple of shallots. Roughly, chop a large handful of Italian parsley leaves.
In a large skillet over high heat, warm a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil until shimmering and add shallots. Season generously with salt, pepper, and sauté until softened. Add mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add Fettuccine and cook just until al dente. Add the zest of one lemon, a generous dollop of crème fraiche, and chopped parsley to mushroom mixture. Stir to combine.
Add Fettuccine and toss to coat. Serve immediately, finished with additional extra virgin olive oil.
It was absolutely delicious. So simple. And so vegetarian.
Wait, where’s the mascarpone? Did I miss something?
Maybe it’s replacing the creme fraiche?
I’m going to go out of my way to get some fancy mushrooms for this recipe. Not Vermont distance but three neighborhoods over. Is crème fraiche a substitute for mascarpone?
Hi everyone:
Sorry, yes, mascarpone is basically creme fraiche, and I have a feeling this package recipe was translated directly out of Italian, so they just threw in creme fraiche, assuming that mascarpone would be unavailable.
That’s so interesting regionally. I’ve seen mascarpone cheese at lots of grocery stores here in St Louis but never creme fraiche!
I’m going to chalk that up to the importance of our little Italy (The Hill) and the prevalence of Italian food here.
Crème fraîche is definitely more common around here, but you can always get mascarpone. The substitution theory came from me; it could just be sloppy recipe writing/translating. Celebrity recipes do stuff like this all the time. When I do my Sunday gig I try to read through them (and even make some) to make sure they make sense, but this one I just kind of let go.
Ah, dopey me, I did not realize they were interchangeable. Thank you for clarifying.
The fault is entirely mine. It wouldn’t have killed to change the title to “mascarpone (or crème fraîche)” and the ingredients list to crème fraîche (or mascarpone.) For what it’s worth, I ended up using crème fraîche.
They’re only interchangeable if you’re doing something like this. But if you’re going to make something like tiramisu then use mascarpone or you will be very very sorry. Mascarpone is essentially an Italian cream cheese.
I hope you still have sources for cheap oxtail. That’s good stuff, but if it shows up in my grocery it’s usually pricey.
I haven’t been in that supermarket in years. It’s still there. Aside from the milky smell I liked it because since it was pretty much the only game in town, or the neighborhood, except for the bodegas, it was always packed like a subway car and it was the same cross-section of New York life. Black, brown, and white; young and old; Christian, Muslim and Jew (in MLK Jr.’s phrasing) there we all were. A gorgeous mosaic (in Mayor Dinkins’s phrasing.)
Printing for cooking next week – chef’s kiss!
Hell yeah.