Creamy biltong and mushroom pasta with coriander

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Soft biltong, pink in the middle â I suppose we could call it medium rare even though it hasnât been cooked â is best for a pasta sauce. And thereâs no reason why biltong should not make its way into a pasta recipe.

The biltong sold in pre-packaged vacuum packs is generally not suited to a pasta sauce. It tends to be firm, âhardâ biltong, and thatâs not what you need. And though some biltong pasta recipes call for biltong âdustâ, I think this is a terrible choice. Itâs grainy by nature, and your sauce will be too.

The best route when sourcing biltong for pasta is to find a good biltong speciality shop, one of those delis that have sprung up in South African shopping centres. Or, do as I do â when passing through a Karoo town, find the local butcher, or the best one, and ask them if they make their own biltong.

Ask them to ârasperâ their softest (and biggest) stukkie of biltong for you, super thinly. Thatâs the biltong you need for your pasta sauce.

I used a teaspoon of finely ground coriander in this pasta sauce, which is highly unusual. We donât spice our pastas, other than with pepper. But coriander seeds are a core ingredient in the curing and spicing of biltong, and itâs a tidy fit for this sauceâs flavour profile.

I also had a relatively heavy hand with the black pepper, because I like the interplay between pepper and cream in a sauce (pepper steak isnât popular for nothing).

And I threw in a glass of dry white wine because that can only enhance a cream sauce.

Because I wanted something green to garnish this dish, I chose coriander leaves, because it seemed the obvious choice given that the plantâs seed flavours the biltong anyway.

Tonyâs creamy biltong and mushroom pasta

(Serves 2-4)

Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter or olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

250g portobellini mushrooms, sliced

100ml dry white wine

200ml fresh cream

200g soft biltong

100g finely grated parmesan

A handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

Plenty of black pepper

Salt

100g gnocchi pasta shells or other pasta of your choice

1 tsp finely ground coriander

More grated parmesan for garnish

Method

Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Slice the mushrooms.

Melt some butter or heat some olive oil in a saucepan.

Add the onion and cook on a lowish heat, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they have released all their juices. Cook these away until the mushrooms are wet, rather than swimming in liquid.

Add the wine, turn the heat up and reduce by about a third.

Season to taste with the ground coriander, salt and plenty of ground black pepper.

Add the cream and, when it starts bubbling, reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes for the flavours in the sauce to develop.

Add the shaved biltong and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more.

Stir in about 100g of finely grated parmesan.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta till al dente, and drain.

Toss the pasta through the sauce and serve, garnished with fresh coriander leaves and grated parmesan. DM

To buy a copy of Tony Jackmanâs Retro Karoo Food (Penguin Random House) signed by the author in gold, send an email to him at tony@dailymaverick.co.za

Or buy it through the Daily Maverick shop.

Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.

Reporting originally appeared via Daily Maverick. Read the full source for additional context.