This week’s seasonal dishes are based on cardoncelli mushrooms, which are a flat based mushrooms from the Puglia region. Last time I cooked with cardoncelli mushrooms, there wasn’t much left of them after I’d scrubbed all the dirt out from the tiny grooves underneath the cap of the mushroom! So this time I was a little more selective when purchasing them, only the biggest, best, and cleanest cardoncelli were selected!
Angela said you shouldn’t really wash cardoncelli but being a fastidious foody, I insisted they got a little wet! Cardoncelli cleaned, we were ready to begin!
On the menu this week, Cardoncelli, salsicce con Orecchiette – Cardoncelli, sausages with Pugliese pasta, Orecchiette . And Cardoncelli e patate al forno – Cardoncelli and potatoes cooked in the oven.
Cardoncelli e Salsicce con Orecchiette
First up, cardoncelli, sausages and Orecchiette. This is a very popular seasonal and economical dish. First chop the sausages and cardoncelli into bit sized pieces, then add to a pan containing, yes you’ve guessed it, olive oil and garlic!
Brown the sausages, add the tomatoes, a splash of white wine and a drop of water, reduce the heat and cook over a low flame for about 20 minutes. Just before this is ready, cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Drain and retain some of this starchy water.
Reunite all the ingredients and add a splash of the starchy water to give it a glossy finish. Serve and sprinkle with toscanello cheese if you wish! This is a Pugliese hard cheese used frequently in this region instead of parmesan.
Cardoncelli and Potatoes al forno
Next, cardoncelli and potatoes, this couldn’t be simpler! Diced potatoes, mushrooms and tomatoes. Mix together the potatoes and tomatoes, season with salt, then gently fold in the cardoncelli. Drizzle olive oil in a flat based dish, pour all the ingredients in, drizzle more olive oil and finish with grated toscanello cheese. Pop the dish into a pre-heated oven: 200°C for approximately 30 minutes. Done!
Buon Appetito!
Puglian Pleasures 
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