Campanelle with Bechamel, Pancetta and Mushrooms

Béchamel sauce is wonderful, fairly easy to make and is endlessly customizable. It has a short list of ingredients but requires some technique and attention. Paired with mushrooms and Campanelle pasta, this dish becomes warming and comforting.

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Campanelle with Bechamel, Pancetta and Mushrooms Recipe

By Chris Becker

Prep time: 15m

Cook time: 20m

Servings: 2 entree portions or 4 side portions

Ingredients

8 ounces fresh Della Terra Campanelle or 6 ounces Della Terra Creste di Gallo
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 ounces Pancetta
1 cup crimini mushrooms with stems trimmed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
a sprig of fresh thyme
5 or 6 cracks of black pepper from a pepper mill
4 Tablespoons of Bechamel sauce
1/3 cup parmesan, grated
Kosher salt

Pots, Pans, and Tools Needed

Medium saute pan
Pot for cooking the pasta
Long handle strainer/sieve
Wooden spoon

Make the Sauce

In a medium-size saute pan, combine the oil and pancetta over medium/high heat.
As soon as the pancetta starts to brown, add the mushrooms. Quickly stir and let sizzle in the pan.
When the mushrooms have become slightly golden, add 1 tablespoon of the butter along with the garlic and thyme. Stir together and lower the heat to low. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the garlic has become translucent.
Turn the heat off and add ½ cup of the bechamel while stirring together to form the sauce and then remove and discard the thyme sprigs.

Make the Pasta

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoons of kosher salt. Cook the pasta for the suggested time, tasting it at the lower number and cooking until the al dente meets your preference.
Using the sieve, remove the cooked pasta and add it to the sauce when it is ready.

Complete the Dish

Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce to combine; adjust consistency with pasta water if needed.
Toss or stir the remaining parmesan into the pan with the pasta.
Plate the pasta and drizzle the remaining béchamel to garnish.

Substitutions

PASTA: Use our whole grain pasta or Campanelle
VEGETARIAN: Omit the pancetta.
VEGAN: Omit the pancetta, butter and cheese. Replace with vegan butter & parmesan.

Learn how to adjust the recipe portion.

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STORY TIME: MUSHROOMS AND BÉCHAMEL

When I think about comforting flavors, my mind sometimes drifts towards childhood memories of cream of mushroom soup, egg noodles, and chicken. While it isn't my intent to recreate that dish, there is something comforting about those flavors.

Bechamel is an easy to make sauce that adds a creamy richness to to dish, and enhances ingredients like mushrooms, roasted autumn squash, chicken and other savory foods.

I love the texture of shiitake mushrooms, and they also have a bolder flavor than a regular button or crimini. Mushrooms are all somewhat interchangeable, so it’s more about what you want to use as it will have little impact on the steps of the recipe.

NOTES, TIPS, AND TRICKS

In general this is a fairly quick recipe that is packed with flavor. A couple key ingredients to look out for:

PANCETTA: feel free to use bacon or guanciale, but pancetta is the one to look out for for this.

BECHAMEL: not required for this recipe but definitely adds a rich creaminess turning the dish into a comfort meal.

MUSHROOMS: Use crimini, shiitake, king trumpet or a mix of all three.

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Campanelle with Bechamel, Pancetta and Mushrooms