Mushrooms with Onion, Pancetta, and Cream

A rich, peppery pasta with cremini mushrooms, pancetta, onion, and cream, finished with a 50/50 cheese blend and optional arugula and chile crisp for extra bite.

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Step 1

Fill a large pot (at least 6 quarts/L) with 1 gallon (4 L) of water; add 4 tablespoons (40 g) kosher salt, cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil while you make your sauce. If the water begins to boil before your sauce is ready, turn down the heat, but don’t let the volume of the pasta water reduce by boiling off.

Step 2

Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the pancetta and cook just until the fat starts to render, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the onion and continue cooking fairly gently until the pancetta is slightly crisp and the onion is soft and fragrant, another 4 to 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid they release has evaporated and the mushrooms are tender and slightly browned around the edges, 10 to 14 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until soft and fragrant but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 4

Season the mushrooms generously with pepper, then add the cream. Adjust the heat so the cream simmers gently. Cook until the cream has thickened slightly and the mushroom flavor has infused the cream, 4 to 5 minutes. Taste and add more pepper as needed to make the sauce nicely peppery. The sauce will get saltier from the pasta water and cheese, so you probably won’t need to add salt. Slide the skillet off the heat.

Step 5

Bring the pasta water (back) to a boil, add the noodles, and set your timer for 2 minutes less than the shortest suggested cooking time on the package of pasta; this will ideally be 2 minutes before the pasta is al dente. Stir the noodles several times during the first 2 minutes of cooking to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot or otherwise clumping together.

Step 6

When the timer goes off, start tasting the noodles. When they seem like they are 30 seconds away from a perfect al dente, drain and transfer them to the sauce in the skillet using your preferred method, making sure to reserve at least 1 cup (240 ml) of the pasta water.

Step 7

Slide the skillet back onto medium heat and finish cooking the noodles, tossing and adding plenty of splashes of pasta water until the noodles are perfectly al dente and nicely creamy. (This shouldn’t take long because you’ve almost fully cooked the noodles already.) If the sauce seems watery, simmer for another few seconds to tighten it up, bearing in mind that the cheese will thicken it.

Step 8

Reduce the heat to very low. Add the grated cheese and toss to emulsify it with the other sauce ingredients, adding splashes of pasta water (or plain hot water) if needed to keep the consistency creamy and prevent the cheese from clumping. Taste and add more salt or pepper if you like.

Step 9

Add the arugula, if using, and toss a couple of times to integrate it, but not so much that it wilts.

Step 10

Divide the pasta between two warm bowls, top with the chile crisp, if using, and serve right away with more cheese to add at the table.