Tagliatelle with cherry tomato confit, honey fungus, and pesto

Tagliatelle with cherry tomato confit, honey fungus, and pesto is a dish that combines the sweetness of slowly cooked cherry tomatoes with the distinctive earthy flavor of honey fungus and the aromatic scent of pesto. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 250 g of fresh egg tagliatelle
• 200 g of cherry tomatoes
• 150 g of fresh honey fungus
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sprig of thyme (or rosemary if you prefer)
• For the pesto:
  • 50 g of fresh basil
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 20 g of pine nuts
  • 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 50 g of grated Pecorino cheese
  • 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Start with the cherry tomato confit: wash the tomatoes, cut them in half and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper with the cut side facing up. Add the garlic cloves on top, a drizzle of oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bake at 120 °C for about an hour and a half or until they are wilted but not dissolved.

2. For the pesto, wash the basil leaves and dry them gently. In a blender, blend the basil with garlic, pine nuts, a pinch of salt, Parmesan, and Pecorino, gradually adding the oil until a homogeneous mixture is obtained.

3. Clean the honey fungus by removing the earthy part of the stem, then rinse them quickly under fresh water and dry them. Sauté them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a clove of garlic for a few minutes until they are golden brown. Season them moderately and set aside.

4. Cook the tagliatelle in plenty of salted water, draining them al dente. Keep some of the cooking water to dilute the pesto if necessary.

5. In a large pan, combine the tagliatelle with some cooking water and add the pesto, mixing well.

6. Add the cherry tomato confit and sautéed honey fungus, mixing carefully to distribute the ingredients.

Finally, serve the tagliatelle well dressed, possibly with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan and decorated with some fresh basil leaves.

Curiosity

Cherry tomato confit is a French preparation that consists of cooking tomatoes slowly at low temperature, concentrating their flavor. In Italian cuisine, this method is adopted to enhance the natural sweetness of cherry tomatoes, especially during the summer months when they are at their peak of ripeness. This dish is an expression of how simple ingredients can be transformed into a rich and sophisticated gastronomic experience.