Baked tagliatelle with ham and mushrooms is one of my favorite dishes.
The recipe combines three elements that always whet my appetite: fresh pasta from the tagliatelle family, my favorite type of egg pasta; baked pasta, which I always love, whether it’s fresh or dried, short or long; and, finally, béchamel sauce. I think I’ve already written somewhere that I’m a balsamella girl. What would life be without this sumptuous sauce that makes everything it touches special?
Usually, the creative process begins with choosing a recipe from the list of those waiting to be published on the blog. After cooking, photographing, and sometimes filming the process, I write the text, translate the content into English, and finally share the dish on the blog or in the newsletter. Later, I also share it on my Instagram profile.
This time, things turned out differently. I posted the video recipe for baked tagliatelle on Instagram, and it was so appreciated that I decided to post it on my blog too.
I am happy to do so because it is a dish I remember from my childhood. For me, it tastes like family lunches, which is why I have never stopped cooking it, much to my satisfaction and that of those who taste it.
I hope you will feel the same way.
Buona cucina, Monica
Baked pasta, 3 irresistible recipes + that for béchamel
- Baked pasta roses from the repertoire of Nonna Sara
- Lasagne Goccia d’Oro
- Lasagne verdi alla Bolognese
- Béchamel
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Baked tagliatelle some kitchen notes
- Seasoning: ready-to-use mixed mushrooms in oil make preparing the dish even quicker. Rinse the mushrooms under running water and then chop them finely with a knife.
- This is the perfect recipe for when you’re short on time but have a special occasion coming up. To make preparation easier and faster, do the following: put the béchamel sauce in a large bowl while the pasta cooks in boiling salted water. Once it’s ready, set aside a cup of the cooking water. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta to the bowl with the béchamel sauce. I always add a few tablespoons of the cooking water, as fresh pasta tends to absorb liquids. This step is essential to keep the sauce fluid. At this point, add the sauce, stir again, form nests, cover with Parmesan cheese, cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate if you will be serving the pasta the next day. Otherwise, bake in a preheated oven for about ten minutes. Halfway through baking, remove the cover and gratin according to your taste.
Baked tagliatelle with prosciutto and mushrooms
Ingredients
- 400 g of champignon mushrooms you can use other mushrooms or cooked pumpkin seasoned with a pinch of nutmeg and olive oil
- 50 g of butter
- 10 g of olive oil
- 400 g of egg tagliolini, or tagliatelle
- 200 ml of béchamel sauce
- 100 g of prosciutto crudo, diced, or finely chopped with a knife you can also use cooked ham, sweet pancetta, smoked pancetta, or a mix of whatever you prefer
- 100 g of cooked ham
- pasta cooking water, olive oil or butter, salt to taste
- 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese + enough to sprinkle over the tagliolini nests
Instructions
- Remove the mushroom stems, clean the caps with damp paper towels, slice thinly, and cook in a pan with butter, oil, and salt until the mushroom liquid is completely absorbed and the mushrooms are soft. Allow to cool before chopping the mushrooms with a knife. Set aside.
- Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until al dente, about two to three minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the béchamel sauce in a large bowl (set aside a couple of tablespoons).
- When the pasta is al dente, set aside a cup of the cooking water, drain, and pour the tagliatelle into the bowl with the béchamel sauce.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Add 1 or 2 ladles of the pasta cooking water (about 4 tablespoons), to the tagliatelle, then mix vigorously.
- Now add the mushrooms and ham (or cheese), more pasta cooking water, a drizzle of olive oil, 50 g of Parmigiano cheese, and mix.
- Use a large fork to form 4 nests or small mounds. Arrange the nests side by side in a baking dish, with a few flakes of butter placed in the bottom. Spread the remaining sauce from the bowl over the nests, add a scant tablespoon of béchamel, sprinkle with Parmigiano.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, place in the oven, and remove the foil after 5 minutes. Continue baking for another 5 minutes or until the pasta is gratinated to your liking.
Tips
- You can prepare the tagliatelle nests the day before and store the baking dish covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven according to the recipe instructions just before serving.
- If you use a mix of grated or finely chopped cheeses, the first course becomes vegetarian.
