Taste of Christmas Tagliatelle

This recipe was originally created for a feature with Kitchen Conversations. It was a festive inspired pasta dish, using some of the flavours and foods I love at Christmas, from soft, creamy blue cheese like dolce latte, to crispy pancetta and a twist of cranberry sauce!

Taste of Christmas Tagliatelle

Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes | Serves: 2 | Nutrition: 757 calories per serving

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Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
• 75g chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
• 75g dolce latte cheese cut roughly into pieces
• 150g - 175g tagliatelle (homemade tagliatelle tastes best!)
• 4 slices of pancetta
• 2 tbsps creme fraiche
• 100ml white wine (optional)
• 1 tsp cranberry sauce
• 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
• Extra virgin olive oil

Method

Pancetta and breadcrumbs If you want to save on washing up I recommend doing this at the start of the dish so you can use the same pan (drain any fat after cooking the pancetta), alternatively use a second frying pan and cook alongside the sauce, and pasta.

1. Add a splash of olive oil in a pan and on a high heat, add the breadcrumbs and cook for 2 minutes until toasted (you can also add finely chopped rosemary or thyme). Put to one side in a small bowl.
2. Fry the pancetta until crispy and place to one side on a plate.

Tagliatelle and sauce

1. Bring a pan of water to the boil for the pasta (you can use dried, fresh or homemade!)
2. Add 2 tbsps of olive oil to a pan on a low heat, add the finely sliced red onions and cook, gently moving around the pan for about 5 minutes, until soft.
3. Add the mushrooms. Once they start to soften add the white wine (or a splash of pasta water) and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.
4. On a low heat, add the dolce latte and creme fraiche to the pan, and stir to create a creamy sauce.
5. Allow the sauce to gently simmer.
6. While preparing the sauce, cook your pasta until al dente.
7. Add 1 tsp of cranberry to the sauce and stir in. If you can get a cranberry sauce with orange, and/or port added to it, it will add that extra festive twist (Tracklements and Stokes do ones like these)
8. Drain your pasta and add to the pan with the sauce, don’t worry if there is a little bit of pasta water still with the pasta, this will help make the sauce even creamer and cling to the pasta.
9. Stir the pasta into the sauce, and plate up.
10. Top with the pancetta and breadcrumbs for a delicious finishing touch.