Pasta with tomato and mushroom sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g spaghetti, macceroni, linguine or other long pasta
• 350 g mushrooms, small
• 2 cans of tomatoes (pizza)
• 2 onions, small
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tsp parsley, chopped, fresh or frozen
• 150 g Parmesan or Pecorino
• some salt
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• some black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 clove(s) garlic

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Pasta alla Contadina – recipe from Tuscany

Clean and sanitize the mushrooms, if possible without washing them, but simply wiping them with a damp cloth or kitchen paper. Then slice the mushrooms lengthwise into thin slices. Peel and finely dice the onions. Peel the garlic clove as well. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and sauté the diced onions, then press in the garlic. Add the mushroom slices and 2 teaspoons of parsley and sauté everything over slightly reduced heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the pizza tomatoes, stir, and season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Reduce the heat again to low. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, grate the cheese into wafer-thin shavings and cook the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce, arrange on plates, sprinkle with the cheese shavings and the remaining parsley, and serve immediately. If you like, you can of course also use fresh tomatoes and prepare them accordingly. In summer, when they ripen locally—perhaps even in your own garden—and are aromatic, this is certainly the better option. However, if you want to use fresh tomatoes in winter, be sure to add some tomato paste to the sauce for flavor.