Theo Randall's tagliatelle with mushrooms, pine nuts and pancetta recipe

Details

• Cuisine: Italian
• Recipe Type: Pasta
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Serves: 2

Step-by-step

1. Heat a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. 
2. When hot, add the pancetta to the dry pan and leave it to cook for a few minutes, until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is crispy. Add the pine nuts and cook for about 1 minute, until they are a light golden colour.
3. Remove the pancetta and pine nuts from the pan with a slotted spoon and set them aside to drain on kitchen paper. Leave the fat in the pan. 
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan over a medium heat. Fry until the mushrooms have released their liquid and become syrupy, then add the garlic and thyme and fry for 2 minutes more.
5. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat down to low and stir in the mascarpone. 
6. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the tagliatelle and cook for 2 minutes less than the packet suggests, then, using tongs, transfer the pasta to the pan with the mascarpone mixture.
7. Add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water and stir through the parsley. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon and cook for 1 minute, adding another ladleful of pasta cooking water if the tagliatelle feels a little dry.
8. Toss the pasta so it is juicy and coated in the sauce. Serve the tagliatelle in warm bowls with the crispy pancetta, pine nuts and a little extra Parmesan sprinkled on top. 

This recipe is extracted from The Italian Pantry by Theo Randall (Quadrille, £26.00). Photography © Lizzie Mayson.