Bucatini with Mushrooms
- 1 lb bucatini
- 4 salted anchovies
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ¾ oz dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon parsley , chopped
- 1 ¾ oz crustless white bread
- salt and pepper
Cook the chopped dried mushrooms in a casserole with a tablespoon of oil, some spoonfuls of water, and a pinch of salt.
Sieve them, and put to one side adding a part of their cooking liquid. Put the rest of the oil in a small pan, lightly brown the garlic, remove it, add the mushrooms with their liquid, mix, remove the pan from the heat, add the anchovy paste, and keep hot.
Cook the“bucatini”in abundant, lightly salted boiling water, drain when slightly“al dente”,and arrange on a plate.
Sprinkle with the sauce with chopped parsley and a pinch of pepper added to it at the last moment, mix well, transfer to an oven-dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs lightly browned in oil, and brown the top in the oven for some minutes.
Serve hot.
Food History
Garlic was one of the first plants to be cultivated by man, thousands of years ago. It is originally from central Asia, but quickly spread to the rest of the world. In ancient India, garlic was considered to be, despite its strong odor, such a strong aphrodisiac that it was not allowed to be eaten by monks, children or widows for fear they might succumb to certain temptations.
On the other hand, in the Mediterranean, garlic has been known for its medicinal properties for centuries.
In ancient Egypt, garlic was not only believed to cure any ailment, but also thought to increase one’s strength based on the quantity one consumed. According to Herodotus, garlic was one of the main ingredients of the meals served to the workers who built the Great Pyramid of Giza. The therapeutic properties of garlic were also known to the Greeks. Hippocrates, the most important physician of the ancient world, recommended the consumption of garlic. Later, Pliny the Elder, the famous Roman writer who died in the 79 AC eruption of mount Vesuvius, wrote that garlic was served to Roman soldiers to fend off infectious illnesses.
Did you know that…
During World War II, Russian doctors, having studied Pasteur and his discoveries of the antibiotic properties of garlic, prescribed garlic to wounded soldiers when they ran out of other medicines?
Other suggested recipes
