Smoked Mushrooms And Tasso Pasta
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 - 8 cloves garlic, finely mince
1 bunch green onions, chopped, including most of the tops
1/4 pound tasso
2 - 3 teaspoons Creole seasoning blend
1 pound white button mushrooms, or your favorite wild mushrooms like shiitakes,
chanterelles, or a mix
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste
3/4 pound fresh angel hair or other favorite pasta
Put the liquid smoke into the bottom a large Dutch oven. Put a wire rack in the
bottom of the Dutch oven and put the mushrooms on top of it. Cover and turn the
heat to high for 5 minutes. Turn it off and let the mushrooms stay in the
covered pot for about 20 minutes. Remove and slice.
Melt the butter in a large saute pan, add the olive oil and mix. Saute the
garlic over extremely low heat for about 10 minutes. Do not brown or burn the
garlic; this is to let the flavor saturate the butter/oil mixture. Add the green
onions and saute over low-medium heat for a few minutes. Add the tasso and
Creole seasoning and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking
over low-medium heat until the mushrooms are cooked. Add parsley and adjust
seasonings to taste. Serves 4.
Serve over freshly cooked pasta. I like angel hair, but penne, fusilli or
radiattore would work well.
If you want to make this slightly better for you, omit the butter and add a
little more olive oil, but the butter gives it a great flavor. The original dish
was all butter, but was an appetizer-sized portion; as a main course, this is a
little bit better for you.