Linguine with Chanterelles

It was my mum's last night with us yesterday, so as a special treat I made a dinner featuring one of her favourite things - chanterelle mushrooms. I sent her down to the market to get the ingredients and she came back with enough mushrooms to feed a small army - or maybe a number of sailors from the naval academy down the road that we keep spotting (we are hoping to befriend a few of them). These mushrooms, according to mum, are quite difficult to find in England, but are currently in season and there are stacks of them on most fruit and veg stands that I have seen in Venice. I was also lucky enough to sample them on holiday in Austria a few weeks back and they are a good addition to lots of dishes and compliment all sorts of flavours. Also worth trying if you don't usually go for normal button mushrooms, as they do have a different taste and texture. I think this pasta dish went down well with the girls, even Holly who had mushrooms on her list of dislikes but was willing to suffer through a mushroom based meal just to keep mum happy.

This recipe serves 6 and the ingredients area as follows:
300g Chanterelle Mushrooms (slice any larger ones in half but I left most whole)
1 Packet Linguine/Spaghetti
1 Small bunch Parsley (finely chopped)
200g Bacon Lardons
1/2 Bottle Dry White Wine
150ml Single Cream
1 Large White Onion (chopped)
2 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped or crushed - we don't have a garlic press unfortunately)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

To start, wash all the mushrooms and chop any large ones in half. Put a pan of water on the hob with a pinch of salt and leave to boil. Add a glug of olive oil to a frying pan and add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft, add the lardons and fry on a medium heat until starting to brown.

Once the water is boiling add in the packet of linguine and make sure it is all underwater before leaving to cook for about 10-15 minutes until it is soft but still has a bit of bite to it (Al Dente).

Next add in the white wine and simmer until half the liquid had been reduced, add half the chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste (a pinch of each should do). Place all the mushrooms in, don't be alarmed if it seems like loads as they do shrink down. Once the mushrooms have shrunk down a little, stir in the cream and leave to simmer for a few minutes. Drain the pasta once ready and add to the frying pan, stir in the mushrooms and bacon and let the pasta soak in some of the sauce. After a few minutes, top the pan with the remaining parsley and serve.

We had a bowl of parmesan on the side and a salad with some cherry tomatoes as well, but if you prefer veg to salad you could add some chopped courgette or asparagus to the frying pan before adding the wine.

We visited the Accademia Gallery yesterday as well, they have a wonderful exhibition on at the moment that features a lot of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings and sketches, including the Vitruvian man. They have all of the explanations in English and Italian. The gallery is quite small but full of excellent paintings, some by the Masters of  Renaissance art like Titian or Bellini.

Perhaps more importantly than the gallery, we also found a great gelateria near the gallery that had blood orange (arancia rossa) sorbet and coconut ice cream - my favourite - and sat on some steps over looking the Redentore to enjoy it!

Will keep you updated on the sailors.. ;)