Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Lemon Butter Sauce

I was thrilled to be selected as one of the lucky bloggers to test the new Riserva pasta’s from Buitoni.  I got a pack of the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti and I was tasked with coming up with a sauce to compliment the pasta.

This is a wild mushroom pasta, and I love the combination of lemon with mushrooms, and since the filling sounds rich I thought a light sauce would compliment the filling best.  

However, light does not mean bland, oh no!  My sauce is flavored with pancetta, shallots, garlic, and made all the more velvety with the addition of a little cream.  Trust me, it will not overpower the pasta, but it will make its presence known!

I wanted the sauce to be easy to prepare, so it would not be out of reach for weeknight meals.  I also wanted it to be the kind of sauce you could would be proud to serve company.  It had to be have ingredients anyone could find at their local supermarket.  Overall, it had to taste good.  I think I hit the nail on the head with this one.

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Lemon Butter Sauce  Serves 2

3 oz pancetta, chopped

1 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup dry white whine

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

white pepper to taste

3 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and kept cold

1 package of Buitoni’s Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

Fresh parsley

Grated parmesan

In a saute pan cook the pancetta until crisp.  Remove the pancetta from the pan reserving the fat.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallot.  Cook until it begins to soften, about two minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for one minute.

Add the white wine and lemon juice and allow to reduce for about three minutes.   Season with pepper, reduce the heat to low and add the cream.   While you do this you will want to boil the pasta for four minutes.

Add the butter, one or two cubes at a time, stirring constantly while it melts over low heat.  After you have added half the butter remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining butter.   Toss in the hot pasta and turn to coat.

Garnish with chopped parsley, grated fresh parmesan, and the crisped pancetta.