Valentine’s Day can sometimes be a challenge for the cook. Do I do a three-course dinner with a rich chocolate dessert or a one-dish favorite that respects the season and feels celebratory? This year, I will be reintroducing a former tradition: fresh pasta in a rich, velvety, mushroom sauce. I love that it’s full of an earthy, almost meaty flavor and is satisfying as a main course.
The growth of the California mushroom industry in recent years has been truly striking. We now have varieties of all the world’s great fungi, from Japan’s shiitake and shimeji oyster mushrooms, to the famous French varieties: morels and chanterelles. And recently, the first black truffle was harvested in Sonoma.
