Dinner in less than an hour, from scratch!

Tonight I combined two recipes, added something else that sounded good, and came up with a fabulous dinner! I thought about taking a picture, but when the food's hot, the kids are squirming, and there's too much chaos to stop and search for a camera...well, I decided to eat instead! While I won't go so far to say that this recipe is healthy (because "healthy" is relative, depending on one's own definition for his or her current diet), I will say that it's wholesome, filling, and full of nutritious ingredients. You may omit the cream if you're watching your waistline, but I think it adds fabulous dimension, flavor, and texture to the pasta.

Homemade Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Fresh refrigerated pasta may be substituted for homemade if time is an issue. I found the bag of frozen mushrooms in the freezer of our grocery store's natural foods section, but if I'd had access to an assortment of fresh wild mushrooms I would've used those! The dried tomatoes I used were from last summer's garden, so they're brittle and needed to soak in hot water for a few minutes. If using store-bought ones, they will probably not need a soak, as they're usually pliable and soft.

For the pasta, combine in a large bowl:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 eggs

Whisk together using a fork, and then slowly drizzle in cool water while kneading until it forms a dry, but cohesive mass. Turn onto a floured countertop and knead until smooth and elastic. Wrap or cover and let rest.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

For the sauce:
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 tbsp butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (crumbled if brittle and briefly soaked, or roughly chopped if already soft)
10 oz mixed wild mushrooms (thawed and drained if frozen), sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cream
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
sage
parsley

Heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted. Add the hazelnut pieces and stir until lightly browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to the hot pan and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the wine, and cook until it's almost evaporated. Stir in the cream, a pinch or two of dried sage, a little parsley, and salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce the cream by half, then stir in the cheese. Cover and keep warm. (If not using the cream, just set the mushroom mixture aside until needed and top the pasta with parmesan just before serving instead of mixing it in.)

Roll the pasta out and cut it into fettuccine (I used a thickness of 5 on my pasta machine). Boil the fettuccine about 3 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and toss with the sauce.

Serve immediately, topped with the toasted hazelnuts, a grating of fresh pepper, and more parmesan, if desired.

Serves 4.