Olive Leaf Pasta with King Oyster Mushrooms Recipe from Puglia.

Prepare the ingredients

1. Clean the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper. I know that mushrooms aren’t meant to be washed, but I usually give these a quick rinse under running water if they still have dirt on them. I then pat them dry with kitchen paper.
2. Cut the mushrooms. I cut the thick white stems of the bigger mushrooms into thick rounds. Then I sliced the larger caps and the smaller mushrooms. Wash and cut the tomatoes into pieces. Peel and finely chop the onion and 2 of the garlic cloves. Just peel the 3rd one. Wash and chop the fresh parsley. Cut the stalebread into small cubes. If using a whole chili cut half into very small pieces. Remove the seeds to make it less spicy.

Cook the mushrooms

1. Put 2 generous tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet and add the cut mushrooms. Cook over a relatively high heat without adding salt. Adding the salt at this time will make the mushrooms lose water, making them soft and slimy. Plus, cooking over high heat helps maintain the meatiness of the mushrooms. When the mushrooms have started to brown, remove them from the pan.
2. Add a little more olive oil to the same pan along with the chopped onion and garlic and the parsley. Sauté until the onions start to soften. Then add back the mushrooms. Pour in the white wine and let it evaporate. Set aside while you cook the tomatoes.

Cook the tomatoes and bread croutons

1. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and one peeled clove of garlic to another pan and let the garlic brown gently. Then, add the washed and cut tomatoes and cook over a medium to high heat. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Once the tomatoes have really softened add them with their juices to the mushrooms.
2. Put the bread cubes and a tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan and let the croutons brown. You will need to turn them so they brown on both sides. I used the same pan I had cooked the tomatoes in. When the croutons are ready remove from the pan and place on a plate with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.

Cook the pasta

1. Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta for one minute less than recommended on the packet. Save a cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Add it to the mushroom and tomato sauce.

Finish the dish.

1. Mix the pasta with the sauce and cook everything together over a medium to high heat for a couple of minutes, stirring well so that the sauce is absorbed by the pasta. If the sauce seems dry add some of the saved pasta cooking water. Serve immediately with the toasted bread croutons scattered on each plate.