Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Soft roasted garlic brings mellow sweetness to chanterelles and ribbons of pasta in a light buttery sauce. A little parsley and Parmesan finish a savoury, glossy dish for a relaxed weekend meal.
Times, quantities and yields are adaptation estimates. Check the soaking, cooking and texture cues in the steps; passive waits are listed separately.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Rinse the dried chanterelles briefly and cover generously with warm water for about 15–30 minutes, the starting range on the pack. Check that thicker parts bend easily and open one to look for any dry, hard centre. If still firm, continue soaking in clean water and check again. Discard the soaking water and rinse away grit from the folds. If a longer wait is needed, use cold water in the fridge at 5°C or below and allow longer. Cook promptly after rehydrating.
Put the rehydrated mushrooms in a small saucepan, cover with fresh water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 40–60 minutes, until fully cooked and tender even in the thicker parts. Top up with hot water to keep them covered if needed, then drain. The pack specifies 40–60 minutes of cooking after soaking; this recipe completes that stage separately before the brief final sauté. Soaking alone does not cook the mushrooms.
While the mushrooms simmer, preheat the oven to 190°C conventional / 170°C fan. Remove loose outer skin from the garlic bulb and trim a little from the top to expose the cloves. Drizzle with 5 ml olive oil, wrap in foil and place on a small tray. Roast for about 35–45 minutes, until the cloves squash easily with a fork. Let cool enough to handle, squeeze out the flesh and mash; discard the papery skins. Roast longer if the cloves are still firm.
Start cooking the pasta once the mushrooms are fully cooked and the garlic is soft. Bring a separate pan of water to the boil, salt to taste and cook the pasta to al dente following its packet. Reserve about 100 ml cooking water before draining. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 5 ml oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat and soften the shallot for about 3–4 minutes. Add the drained, cooked mushrooms for about 2 minutes, then the garlic mash and 200 ml stock. Simmer for about 3–5 minutes to reduce slightly.
Transfer the pasta to the sauce, add the 20 g butter and toss for about 1–2 minutes until lightly coated. Add reserved pasta water a splash at a time if dry; you may not need it all. If too watery, toss over the heat a little longer. Remove from the heat before stirring in half the cheese and the parsley. Taste and adjust the salt and black pepper. Divide between two plates, finish with the remaining cheese and serve hot.
Contains wheat in the pasta and milk in the butter and cheese. Some pasta contains egg and some stock contains celery; check the actual packets. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Keep rehydrated mushrooms at 5°C or below while waiting and cook promptly. The pasta is best freshly made. Cool leftovers promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, and eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only once with a splash of water, stirring until steaming hot throughout.
