If you like the rich tastes of autumn, this is the kind of pasta dish you should try. It may sound a bit elaborate to make but if you get organized and follow the steps I’m suggesting here, you’ll realize the recipe is actually very simple. For a more rustic dish, substitute spaghetti with homemade, whole grain pappardelle or tagliatelle.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

280 g organic Kamut spaghetti

For the mushroom sauce

8 dried shiitake

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons water (the same you used to soak the mushrooms)

2-3 fresh chive sprigs

For the walnut and leek sauce

1 leek

100 g walnuts

4-5 tablespoons plain soy milk (GMO-free)

1 pinch whole sea salt

1 pinch ground white pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Soak shiitake in water and start preparing the walnut and leek sauce. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to a boil.

Leek and walnut sauce

Bring 2-3 glasses of water to a boil. Clean the leek, cut it into 2-3 cm chunks, and cook it in water until completely tender. Meanwhile, ground the walnuts in a blender or food processor. Add the leek (which you will have drained, if necessary), oil, salt and pepper and blend while pouring a stream of soy milk throught the hole in the blender cap. As soon as the sauce is creamy enough (it should be smooth, so you might need to add some extra milk), stop processing and set aside.

Mushroom sauce

Once the mushrooms are soft (normally,  20 minutes soaking time is good enough), you can rinse them briefly (keep the soaking water!) and remove the stems. Chop the shiitake, transfer them into a wok and sauté for a few minutes in olive oil. Add about 4 tablespoons soaking water and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes or until tender, using more water to prevent mushrooms from getting too dry. Remove from heat, sprinkle with some chives and set aside.

Pasta

As soon as the water is boiling, salt it and cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, and transfer them into the wok with the mushrooms. Sprinkle with some olive oil, add the leek and walnut sauce and sauté for about 1 minute over medium heat, making sure all the flavours blend together. Garnish with some chives and enjoy.