When the weather starts to warm up I look around for pasta dishes that fulfil my love of pasta whilst still being fresh, light and above all, colourful. This is one of those dishes and although it has a white wine and cream sauce, this is by no means heavy. The green of the broccolini adds the colour, while the crunch of the breadcrumbs mixed with lemon zest, garlic and parsley, makes the perfect topping. You do need to ensure that you keep aside some of the pasta cooking liquid to add to the sauce as it does dry out, and the sauce needs to be runny to give the dish it’s lightness. I also add a little dried chilli flakes to the sauce, but this is a personal preference and is optional. I have also made this dish using Philadelphia cooking cream rather than the double cream and it works a treat!
Team the dish with a crisp Chardonnay or Riesling and you have a wonderful meal for 2.
Crunchy pappardelle
50ml olive oil
250g button mushrooms, halved
100ml white wine
1 bay leaf
3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
150ml double cream
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
20g panko breadcrumbs
250g broccolini
250g pappardelle
Salt and black pepper
