Bacon and mushroom pasta

Serves 4

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Mix a ¼ cup crème fraîche  with the pasta if you like a creamier sauce. Keep all the ingredients ready before you start. Fry the mushrooms and bacon while the pasta is cooking and then mix with the hot pasta.

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• 125 ml (½ cup) dried porcini- or shiitake mushrooms
• 15 ml (1 tbsp.) olive oil
• 250 g (1 packet) diced bacon
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 250 g (1 packet) portobellini mushrooms, cut in slices
• 400 g angel hair pasta
• 120 g (1 packet) mixed exotic mushrooms such as Enoki, shiitake and porcini
• 60 ml (¼ c) cold butter
• 60 ml (¼ c) grated Parmesan cheese
• sour cream for serving (optional)
• Handful of parsley

1 Fill a large pot three-quarters full of water and season with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.

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2 Cover the dried mushrooms with enough boiling water (about a ½ cup) and let stand for 5 minutes until soft.

3 Heat the oil in a large pan over high heat and fry the bacon, onion, garlic and portobellini mushrooms until golden and cooked through. Season to taste.

4 Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the directions on the package.

5 Drain the soaked mushrooms (keep the fragrant mushroom water), chop roughly and add with the exotic mushrooms to the bacon and onion mixture. Pour the mushroom water over and cook until it has reduced by half.

6 Drain the pasta and stir in the mushroom mixture, butter and Parmesan.

7 Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche (or sour cream) and parsley.