If you attended this year's CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards party, you might remember sampling a creamy, delicious pasta dish from the best new restaurant winner, Sophia's.
It was Orecchiette Tartufate, the Austin hot spot's No. 1 best-selling dish, and executive chef Mark Sparacino is revealing the recipe so you can make it at home. Join him as he shops Whole Foods Market for all the ingredients — from fresh to dried to specialty — and then follow the recipe below to whip up the famous pasta for yourself.
Orecchiette Tartufate
Ingredients
5 oz. fresh/dry orecchiette
2 cups heavy whipping cream (36%-40%)
3 oz. dry white wine
6 medium cremini mushrooms, quartered
5 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 halves sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
1 tablespoon truffle paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
White truffle oil to drizzle
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano to top
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Blanch and shock asparagus; reserve the water for sun-dried tomatoes.
Pour 3 oz. of hot asparagus water over sun-dried tomatoes. Steep for 15-25 minutes (depending on the dryness of tomatoes), then strain.
Sauté cremini mushrooms in extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
In a 10-inch sauté pan, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Sauté over medium heat for 1 minute.
Add cremini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until garlic starts to lightly brown.
De-glaze with white wine, turn heat up to high, and allow to reduce most of wine.
Add the heavy whipping cream, truffle paste, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Allow cream to reduce by 50 percent.
Add asparagus, then turn heat off and set aside.
In boiling salted water, (should taste like the ocean), cook according to directions on package or to desired texture. Pasta should be cooked al dente (slightly undercooked), as it will finish cooking in the sauce.
Bring truffle sauce back to a simmer while pasta is cooking.
Strain pasta but do not rinse. Add directly to sauce, stirring 1 to 2 minutes until pasta is well coated and sauce well reduced.
Finish with parsley, a drizzle of truffle oil, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and pepper to taste.
Chef Mark Sparacino dishes up Orecchiette Tartufate at the 2017 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards.
