I had grandiose plans of making fazzoletti from scratch. It seemed like this project would be a nice way of whiling away a couple of hours of unemployment. Then I decided to go down to little Italy instead and buy the noodles from one of the few old pasta makers left there. I thought it would be a much needed excursion before I snapped from cabin fever.
Long story short, sloth won today and I made this with lasagna noodles from the pantry. The dish was good but I do think hand made pasta is the way to go as fazzoletti, when well made, is silky and much thinner than dried lasagna which allows the other ingredients to sing.
I did get 3 loads of laundry done and cleaned the kitchen floor today, for what that's worth.
4 portions pasta (portions being subjective to appetite of eater hence my not specifying size)
1 lb assorted mushrooms ( I used a mixture of trumpets, oyster and portabella)
1 lb baby arugula
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (more if you really like garlic)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tbsp white wine
1 cup goat's milk ricotta (substitute regular ricotta if it easier)
Salt to taste
Boil water for pasta in a large stock pot. Salt well.
While waiting for the water to boil, place the garlic and butter in a skillet over medium heat.
As soon as the butter has melted, add the mushrooms, the wine and salt well. Lower the heat and cook, stirring from time to time for 5-7 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through and tender. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside until needed.
At some point while the mushrooms were cooking, the pasta water should have boiled, at which point you should add the pasta to the pot. Cook according to the instructions on the box (or pasta recipe if making your own).
One minute before the pasta is supposed to be done, tip the arugula leaves into the pasta water. Stir well.
Roughly drain the contents of the pasta pot, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta liquid. Transfer the pasta and the arugula to the skillet with the mushrooms.
Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly and add up to 1/2 cup of the pasta liquid to the pan to help the mushrooms stick to the pasta. I only needed 1/4 cup, you may need more. You don't want to drown your mushrooms and pasta, you just want a bit of sauce clinging to the noodles.
Adjust for seasoning and serve with pillows of fluffy ricotta on top.