‘Mezze Maniche’ pasta shapes with Taleggio cheese, speck and porcini mushrooms, on a bed of creamed potatoes

AICI – Associazione Insegnanti di Cucina Italiana

Recipe by Carmela Caputo and Giorgia Chiatto

(for 4 people) 400 g ‘mezze maniche’ or ‘caserecce di Gragnano’ pasta shapes FOR THE SAUCE : 2 small shallots, finely chopped 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 250 g porcini mushrooms 100 g speck 25 ml white wine 1 sprig of parsley 30 g grated Parmesan cheese 200 g Organic Taleggio 500g of potatoes, already peeled 1 leek stock, to taste salt and pepper, to taste flakes of Torregio cheese to decorate

Fry the finely sliced leek in 4 tbsp oil, reduce down well with the stock and then add the diced potatoes; cover with stock and leave to cook until soft. Blend everything with a mixer and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
In the meantime, fry the shallots in a pan with 5 cc of oil, increase the heat and add the sliced porcini mushrooms. Once they become lighter in colour, add the wine and chopped parsley and simmer until reduced; season with salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms and toss the small strips of speck in the pan for 1 minute; add the mushrooms.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water and then toss in the pan with the sauce; remove from the heat and add the chopped Taleggio, the Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Serve by spreading a layer of the cream of potatoes on the bottom of the dish and top with the creamy pasta; sprinkle with Torregio cheese.