Coming Home Pasta

Mushrooms, parsley, garlic, butter

I remember making this pasta when I arrived at the Columbia River Gorge. Minus a driving license and a passport, having just flown in from six months in South Asia, it was the first proper meal I had cooked for myself since I had left the shed. I browsed the never ending shelves of the grocery store in Hood River, the first ingredient to go in my basket a 1L bottle of California olive oil. Back at the yurt, two pups curled up by a log fire, the snow settling on the gorge outside, a bottle of Washington pinot noir freshly opened, I cooked this dish and felt like I was home again. I made it again a week later when I landed in Northern California, about to embark on three months in a winery. The same pasta shape, every time. This version adds extra umami with frizzled greens and yielding mushrooms that have gotten friendly with plenty of butter and garlic.