Garlic Bread Angel hair

with roasted mushrooms, burst tomatoes, basil oil, and lemon

Serves 6—8, depending upon what you’re serving it with.

The name of this recipe is quite a mouthful. But then, so is the recipe itself. It’s a fabulous dish that doesn’t take long to make, especially if you do a little prep beforehand. It makes a beautiful presentation, so it’s a good choice when you want something that looks impressive. Light enough for a summer supper but filling enough to make even the heartiest appetite happy. A little butter and some shaved cheese make it decadent, but it’s almost as good when made without dairy.

If you use white or brown mushrooms, this is a delicious recipe. But if you want to go for a show-stopping dish, go for broke (possibly literally!) and use fancy ones, such as oyster, chantarelles, porcini, shiitake, and/or morells.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound angel hair pasta—try to use an Italian bronze die cut pasta for the best texture and flavor.

• 2 pints cherry tomatoes

• 1 pound mushrooms; as many varieties as you’d like to use

• 6 inch chunk of Italian semolina bread

• Zest of 2 lemons, plus the juice of one of them

• A bunch of fresh basil, about 1 cup of leaves

• 4 tablespoons butter, or use fruity extra virgin olive oil

• 1 small head, plus 4 cloves garlic

• ½ cup best quality, fruity extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

• 1 small yellow onion

• Kosher salt and pepper

• Red pepper flakes, if you want a bit of heat

• Generous shavings of Locatelli, Parmigiano Reggiano, or Gran Padano cheese (optional)

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Roast the Garlic:

• Slice off the top of the whole head of garlic.

• Drizzle it with olive oil, sprinkle it with a touch of kosher salt, and wrap it in aluminum foil. The foil should be completely sealed, but loose around the garlic so that it has “room to breathe.”

• Put the foil-wrapped garlic directly on the rack of your oven and roast for 1 hour.

Make the Basil Oil:

• Pick the leaves from the stems of the basil. (Save a few small leaves for a garnish.) If the basil needs washing, make sure the leaves are very dry before proceeding.

• Combine the basil leaves with the oil in a food processor. Process until very well blended, with the leaves chopped as finely as possible.

• You can use the oil as is for a rustic texture. For a more elegant finish, strain the oil through a coffee filter and save the clear, emerald colored oil in a small, clean jar.

Make the garlic bread crumbs:

• Tear the bread into small pieces and then process them to crumbs in a food processor.

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet. Add the melted butter to the breadcrumbs in the processor.

• Squeeze the soft cloves from the roasted garlic into the food processor, as well. Process again to combine everything well.

• If the crumbs seem dry, add enough olive oil to moisten them, but don’t make it oily.

• Toss the garlic bread crumbs in the skillet over medium heat until lightly golden. This will only take a few minutes. Don’t let them burn.

Roast the mushrooms and tomatoes:

• Wash and dry the tomatoes.

• Clean the mushrooms and cut them into (sort of) uniform medium-sized pieces. Small ones, like beech mushrooms or small chantarelles can be left whole. You don’t want the size of the mushrooms to overpower the delicate angel hair, but you don’t want them to disappear, either. Remember that they will shrink somewhat in roasting.

• Drizzle the mushrooms and tomatoes with olive oil, 2 cloves minced or pressed garlic, the finely grated zest of one lemon, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. They should be well-dressed with the oil, but not swimming in it.

• Spread the mushrooms and tomatoes out on a parchment-lined baking pan and roast until the mushrooms are beginning to brown and the tomatoes are just popped, 20-30 minutes.

Make the pasta and sauce: Put up a large pot of well-salted water to boil.

• Finely dice the onion. In a large skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Add the remaining two cloves of garlic, finely chopped, and the finely grated zest of the other lemon. Sauté for another minute or so; don’t let the garlic brown. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Taste and adjust salt. Add more lemon if you’d like to. Add some grindings of black pepper, and some red pepper flakes if you’d like some heat.

• Cook the angel hair according to the package directions. Use a glass measuring cup to scoop out about a cup of the pasta water, just before draining the pasta.

• Add the cooked angel hair to the skillet with the sauce and toss with tongs to mix it well. If it seems dry, add some pasta water—the starch in the water will help it to bind. Add the water a little bit at a time until you’re happy with the result. Taste for salt. Be aware that the pasta will absorb much of the sauce.

• Put it together: In a nice pasta bowl or platter, or on individual plates, arrange half the angel hair. Top with half of the mushrooms and tomatoes and drizzle them very lightly with the basil oil.

• Cover them with the remaining angel hair and then top it with the remaining mushrooms and tomatoes. Sprinkle on the garlic bread crumbs. Finish with the cheese, if using, and then drizzle with the basil oil. Add a few small basil leaves as a garnish, if you’d like.