Tuscany boscaiola: a mushroom pasta that happily accepts almost any mushroom

Some of Italy's favorite pasta dishes are named after the women who traditionally made them, like pasta alla boscaiola..

Pasta alla boscaiola appears on the most rustic Tuscan trattoria menus. Its name implies mushrooms are a key component, with bosco meaning woods and a boscaiola meaning the woodcutter's wife. Presumably, back in the day, those working in the woods would forage for mushrooms for their meals. It's a dish synonymous with autumn when fresh, foraged mushrooms fill the markets and families go out on the weekend expeditions to collect funghi, armed with wide baskets.

The actual recipe changes from household to household, with fresh mushrooms being the only steady ingredient. Olives are common—another seasonal ingredient, as many Tuscans harvest their olives in the fall. Sausage can be replaced with pancetta, or left out all together. Cream very often features in this trattoria favorite, but it's no doubt a gluttonous modern addition. 

In Tuscany, wild, fresh porcini mushrooms are the preference, but any wild mushroom—including chanterelles, chiodini (honey) mushrooms, and pine mushrooms—could be used. If you cannot get these, you can also use regular button mushrooms or Swiss browns and even oyster mushrooms or shimeji mushrooms work here (and a mixture of them is always a good idea). If you can't get fresh porcini, you could add some dried, soaked porcini mushrooms for extra flavor.

Our B-YOU boscaiola is fresh and balanced, we also added two special and healthy ingredients..zucchini and cream cheese to make this meal creamy and high in lean protein! Egg tagliatelle or fusilli with creamy light cheese, zucchini, mushrooms, cured ham and fresh parsley.

 

 

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