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Porcini Ragù

Published on
October 8, 2026
Pasta with mushroom ragù

Finely chopped dried porcini give this sauce the richness of a long-simmered ragù in well under an hour. It's a good pantry dinner for a cold night.

Serves 2 to 4 · 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1½ ounces (40 grams) dried porcini mushrooms
  • Boiling water, for soaking
  • Fine salt and black pepper
  • ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or less to taste
  • ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves and stems, plus more for serving
  • 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
  • About 9 ounces (250 grams) dried tagliatelle nests
  • 1½ ounces Parmesan, very finely grated (about ¾ cup loosely packed), plus more for serving
  • 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Cover the porcini with boiling water in a bowl and soak for 10 minutes. Drain, saving 5 tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Chop the mushrooms very finely, to about the texture of ground meat. Put a pot of salted water on to boil.
  2. Put the oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, parsley and a heaping ¼ teaspoon salt into a large, cold sauté pan. Set it over medium-low heat and cook gently for 5 minutes, until soft and just golden. Turn the heat down if the garlic starts to brown.
  3. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chopped porcini, tomato paste and a generous amount of black pepper, 1 to 1½ teaspoons. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, then take the pan off the heat.
  4. Cook the tagliatelle in the boiling water until al dente, following the package timing. Save 1¾ cups of the pasta water, then drain.
  5. Return the sauté pan to medium-high heat and add 1½ cups of the pasta water and the porcini liquid. Bring to a simmer and let it bubble for 3 minutes.
  6. Stir in half the Parmesan until it melts, then add the rest. Turn the heat to medium, stir in the cream and add the drained pasta. Toss for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the noodles, adding a splash more pasta water if it looks dry.
  7. Serve right away, topped with more olive oil, Parmesan and parsley.

Adapted from a recipe by Ixta Belfrage, from her cookbook Mezcla, in NYT Cooking.