The best thing I ever ate was a Porcini Parpadelle in a small Italian bistro in NYC. The nutty flavor of Porcini mushrooms over pasta, drowned in Truffle oil was an exquisite combination, a revelation really. This is my attempt to recreate the magic in my own kitchen with fraction of the calories.

Ingredients-

1/2 cup Dried Porcini Mushrooms (fresh are harder to get, but if you find them, definitely use fresh)

1/2 cup Button Mushrooms

1/2 packet Whole Wheat Spaghetti or any other pasta of your choice

6 oz White Wine

2 cloves Garlic

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock (or replace with bouillon)

3 tbsp Truffle oil, or substitute with 2 tbsp Olive oil

Salt to taste

Parmesan cheese shavings and Parsley for garnish

Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms by cooking in 4 cups of semi-boiling water for 30 minutes. This will not only cook the mushroom but also yield a beautiful broth that will deepen the flavors in this dish.

Add 1/2 cup of the broth from the reconstituted mushrooms in a pan, add the wine and the chicken or vegetable stock. Add Mushrooms, (reconstituted porcini and the white button mushrooms) and garlic to the mixture. Cook until the liquid is reduced to 1/3rd. Add the spaghetti to the pan and cook until the liquid is incorporated in the pasta. Toss the pasta with truffle oil. Add salt to taste. Garnish with Parsley and Parmesan cheese shavings.

Malbec is a heavenly wine pairing with this pasta. If you prefer white, I would recommend Chardonnay. Take a bit of the pasta, sip on a bit of wine, close your eyes and remember what a beautiful world it is! Thats what I call a good life!!!