London, 8th February 2013 – The main ingredients of this pasta sauce come from the sea and the mountains (mari e monti). This is a classic and very popular Italian combination of flavours which I love.
I used chestnut mushrooms combined with dried porcini mushrooms and this strong flavour contrasts nicely with the more delicate taste of the prawns and squid. The sauce need to be cooked quickly, the mushrooms and the seafood should be tender but still firm to the bite.
I combined this sauce with classic paccheri pasta made in Gragnano (historical town of pasta manufacture in Italy). This pasta is made from high quality Durum wheat semolina. The pasta dough is then forced through a bronze die, which is a perforated plate made of bronze. This gives the pasta a rougher texture which helps to hold the sauce better.
This is a dish for pasta lovers!
RECIPE WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES
PACCHERI MARE E MONTI
(Seafood and Mushroom Paccheri Pasta)
SERVES 4, PREP 30 MINUTES, COOK 15 MINUTES
Ingredients:
- 15 g dried Porcini mushrooms
- 80 ml water (cold)
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 250 g fresh chestnut mushrooms
- 250 g jumbo king prawns
- 100 g squid
- sea salt
- 350 g Paccheri pasta
- Baby plum tomatoes cut into quarters
- flat leaf parsley
Method:
Wash and clean the seafood (as described in my post Potato Dumplings and Seafood sauce). Cut the prawns and the squid into small pieces, saving and cooking a few prawns for decoration.
Wash the dried Porcini, and then put them in a cup filled with 100 ml of water. Soak the mushrooms for at least 20 – 30 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and chop roughly. Use a fine sieve to remove any sand or grit from the water, and set aside.
Wash the chestnut mushrooms and cut them into 1 cm thick slices.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the garlic. Cook, stirring over a medium heat for 2 minutes, then add the Porcini and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the Chestnuts mushrooms and fry for another 3 minutes. Remove the mushroom mixture from the pan and set aside.
In the same frying pan add the squid and stir fry for 3 minutes.
Then add the prawns and the strained Porcini mushroom water and the cook over a high temperature for a few minutes or until they turn pink and the sauce has thickened. Season with sea salt and crushed black pepper.
Return the mushrooms to the pan and mix thoroughly, save a few for decoration.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Drain the pasta thoroughly, add it to the Porcini and seafood sauce and mix well.
In a bowl, mix the baby plum tomatoes with the saved prawns and mushrooms, toss with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Serve the pasta topped with the baby plum tomato mixture and sprinkled with parsley.
PRINT THIS RECIPE
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What a gorgeous dish!
Thank you, dear Asmita!
Rita, ho letto ora di Hampstead! maddaiiii una volta allora vengo a trovarti
anche se come hai capito la mia zona è più a sud! io adoro i mercatini…così facciamo anche 2 chicchiare tra 2 blogger, italiane che vivono a Londra! 
Sono presente al mercato di Parliament Hill in Hampstead ogni due settimane (la prossima volta sara’ il 23 Febbraio). Il mercato non e’ grandissimo ma e’ nel bellissimo Parco di Hampstead Heat. Non vendo Paccheri, ma tanta altra pasta fresca…
This looks homey and delicious. Exactly the one I would love for the lunch.
I like to eat thick, chunky pieces of pasta and enjoy the texture…it’s my perfect lazy lunch day
Per me PASTA N°1, niente è come la pasta, vige la regola delle 3P…Pane…Pasta…Pizza…non propriamente una dieta equilibrata, ma vuoi mettere a soddisfazione??!
Un bacione,
Cri
Queste 3 P sono anche le mie preferite …alla faccia dello squilibrio dietetico…poi pero’ mi pento e mangio il solo Minestrone di verdure…
What a warming and delicious day
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you! I bet you are enjoying your summer in Australia and do not need to brighten up your days…
Pensa che ho appena comprato i paccheri e in frigo ho funghi e gamberi… sembra fatta apposta per me questa ricetta deliziosa. Ci vuole proprio un piatto cosi con il tempo che fa fuori. Ciao!
Grazie Alida! Un po’ di sole almeno nel piatto.
Such a beautiful pasta, it looks so delicious. I have not tried cooking with this type of pasta but will have to try it out. I have always wondered what it would go well with. this looks perfect!
Thank you Nazima! Paccheri pasta is also very good with a RICH tomato sauce like a classic RAGU’ BOLOGNESE.
hi Rita
it looks delicious! I love the sea and mountain combination and would be happy to tuck in to a bowl now!
Thank you Petra, it is unusual to combine sea and mountain ingredients but it works very well!
Great dish, Rita! Here in the U.S., we’d call it “Pasta Surf ‘n Turf.” Did you use Pasta Faella? Complimenti!
Great name for a pasta dish SURF’N TURF! It was not pasta from Pastificio Faella, I bought Tesco Finest range. The pasta is produced in Gragnano, Italy, for Tesco but the original producer is not mentioned on the package (!). I was surprised by the quality of the product and the very reasonable price but now I am very curious to try the Faella brand (I googled the name…).
Me too! Everyone here is positively RAVING about Pasta Faella.
Mari e monti è un classico.. che personalmente mi piace tanto! Buonissimo ed azzeccato il foemato di pasta che hai scelto!!!! magari a poter pranzare assieme.. baci e buon sabato
Magari Cara Claudia poter pranzare insieme sotto il sole di Roma!!! Qui e’ ricominciato a nevicare non ci posso credere: ho voglia di sole e di un bel piatto di paccheri!
Love Porcini mushrooms – I’m sure their rich, earthy flavour provides a wonderful taste to the dish. I’ve never heard of Paccheri pasta – looks like a nice little discovery. I tweeted you the other day as I wanted to make your Pasta e Fagioli dish – wanted to know how much pasta to use for the recipe – not sure if you got my tweet?
Thank you Jacqueline, I love Porcini too and I always have a package of dried Porcini mushrooms in my cupboard (I wish I could have fresh Porcini or even frozen…). Regarding the tweet I apologize, I am not a good tweeter…I will get in touch with you!
Hi Rita, what a delicious pasta dish! I would love to have a plateful.
Thank you Michelle! This is a very satisfying pasta dish!
This looks perfect for a grey Feb day Rita – comfort food without resorting to stodge. Haven’t come across this type of pasta, but will look out for it now as really want to try this recipe.
This is an interesting pasta shape, the shape and texture is quite ‘BULKY’ (big and thick pieces of pasta) and it is very enjoyable for pasta lovers! If you prefer more SAUCE and less pasta I suggest to use linguine or spaghetti…
Una bontà unica questi paccheri, amica! Sei stata bravissima, dei sapori unici e speciali, uniti con maestria e gusto! Un abbraccio stretto stretto <3
Grazie Ely! I sapori in questo piatto si mescolano proprio bene.