Paglia e Fieno ~ Straw and Hay Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Paglia e Fieno, which literally translates to “straw and hay” in Italian, is a classic dish that’s made with two types of pasta–yellow egg fettuccine for the straw and green spinach fettuccine for the hay. The pasta is tossed with a delicious creamy sauce of mushrooms, peas and parmesan cheese that’s finished with a fun crispy prosciutto topping!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 5 ounces thinly-sliced prosciutto (See NOTE below.)
- 5 Tbsp butter, divided
- 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 pound white mushrooms, cleaned and diced or sliced
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound combined egg and spinach fettuccine or tagliatelle pasta + salt for pasta water (See NOTE below.)
- 8 ounces frozen peas, thawed (See NOTE below if using fresh peas.)
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan) cheese + more for top
Instructions
- Prep all ingredients according to specifications above. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)
- Prepare the Crispy Prosciutto: Arrange rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Carefully arrange prosciutto slices or cut pieces in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Roast on middle rack until crispy (about 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven). Transfer to paper towels to drain and cool, then crumble into smaller pieces if roasted whole. Set aside at room temperature, uncovered. (You can make this topping 2 to 3 hours in advance and hold it, uncovered, at room temperature.)5 ounces thinly-sliced prosciutto
- Alternatively, make Crispy Shiitake Bacon. See details in Notes below.
- Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Then add garlic and cook until softened and browned a bit, about 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.2 Tbsp chopped garlic
- Add the mushrooms, salt and black pepper and toss well to ensure that the mushrooms are coated with the butter. Then, increase heat to medium/medium-high. Cook until all the liquid that the mushrooms give off has evaporated.1 pound white mushrooms,, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
- Reduce the heat to medium and add heavy cream to the mushrooms. Cook until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Then, turn off the heat.1 cup heavy cream
- Meanwhile, once the water comes to a boil, add salt, then the pasta, stirring frequently. Turn the mushroom sauce back on to medium-low heat and add the peas after the pasta has been cooking for about 5 minutes.1 pound combined egg and spinach fettuccine or tagliatelle pasta , 8 ounces frozen peas,
- Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions, or about 2 minutes before you think it is al dente. Be sure to reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan and toss well, allowing the pasta to finish cooking in the wonderful flavors of the sauce. Add pasta water for additional moisture, about ½ cup at a time.
- Once the pasta is al dente, remove the pan from the heat. Then gently stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp butter and the parmesan cheese until well-combined½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan) cheese
- Sprinkle with a bit more grated cheese. Transfer to a serving platter, top with crispy prosciutto and serve immediately. Buon Appetito!
Video
Notes
- The prosciutto can either be roasted in whole pieces or slices. If roasting them in whole pieces, just hand crush them after they have cooled. You can also use diced prosciutto and crisp it up in a pan if you would like.
- To try something different as an alternative to the prosciutto (or, in addition if you so desire), make shiitake mushroom “bacon” as the topping for this dish. Something wonderful happens when you roast shiitake mushrooms in a hot oven or a smoky cast-iron pan until crispy~just before they are “burnt”. Their flavor turns meatier than usual and, combined with the crispy texture, they taste so close to bacon! To make it: thinly slice about 6 ounces shiitake mushroom caps and arrange them in a single layer on a lightly oil-sprayed, parchment-lined sheet pan. Spray the top with a bit of oil as well. Then, roast them in a 400°F oven until very crispy (about 10-12 minutes or longer depending on your oven). Remove them from the oven and immediately sprinkle them with fine salt. Set aside at room temperature, uncovered. (You can make this topping 2 to 3 hours in advance and hold it, uncovered, at room temperature.)
- If using fresh peas, I suggest adding them to the pan along with the heavy cream as they will need to cook a bit longer than frozen.
- Use a pan or Dutch oven large enough to be able to spread out the mushroom in a single layer. If the pan is overcrowded, then the mushrooms will steam instead of brown.
- Use a large pot with 5 to 6 quarts water for 1 pound of pasta. Bring the water to a boil before adding the salt. Use 1½-2 Tbsp salt.
- The pasta water is key! Add it to the sauce along with the pasta for the additional moisture needed to finish cooking the pasta.
- This dish was really made for a combination of the beautiful, complementary green and yellow colors of spinach and egg fettuccine or tagliatelle. You may be able to find packages with nests of these two varieties together. Having said this, the creamy mushroom and pea sauce is extremely versatile and will work with all sorts of short and long shapes of pasta. Some of my other favorites to use in this recipe are gnocchi, ziti, rigatoni, paccheri and pappardelle. I prefer to use dried over fresh pasta for this dish as I think it holds up a bit better, especially when tossing it with the cream sauce at the end. Having said this, you can absolutely use fresh pasta for paglia e fieno. Just note that your timing may be a bit different as fresh pasta cooks much quicker than dried.
- The additional butter is “mounted” on the finished pasta at the end for additional richness and silkiness.
