Harissa cannellini pasta with girolles and preserved lemon

Ingredients

Method

1. 1Drain the Realfoods by Organico Cannellini Beans in Water over a jug and keep 100 ml of the bean liquid. Rinse the preserved lemon, scrape out and discard the pulp, and finely chop the rind.
2. 2Slice the dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil. Finely chop the onion and the garlic. Brush any grit off the wild girolle mushrooms and halve any large ones. Finely grate the parmesan and chop the flat-leaf parsley.
3. 3Put a stockpot of water on to boil and salt it with 1 tsp of the sea salt. Do not add the fusilli yet.
4. 4Warm the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 8 minutes until soft and golden at the edges, then add the garlic for 1 minute.
5. 5Turn the heat to high, add the wild girolle mushrooms and a pinch of the remaining sea salt, and leave them undisturbed for 2 minutes until deeply browned. Stir once and cook 2 minutes more until the pan looks dry and a brown fond coats the base.
6. 6Lower the heat to medium. Stir in the harissa paste and the dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil and fry for 1 minute until the paste smells fragrant and the oil turns red.
7. 7Pour in the vegetable stock and the reserved bean liquid. Scrape up every brown bit. Add most of the preserved lemon rind, holding a little back. Boil uncovered for 4–5 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a dark, syrupy glaze that coats a spoon.
8. 8While the glaze reduces, boil the fusilli for 1 minute less than the packet time so it is just shy of tender.
9. 9Tip the cannellini beans into the glaze and warm them for 1 minute. Drain the fusilli, reserving a mug of pasta water, and add the pasta to the pan with 4 tbsp of that water. Toss over medium heat for 1 minute until the glaze clings; loosen with another splash only if it looks tight.
10. 10Take the pan off the heat. Fold in most of the parmesan, the flat-leaf parsley and the black pepper. Taste and add the remaining sea salt only if it needs it — the preserved lemon is already salty.
11. 11Divide between four bowls, scatter over the remaining parmesan and the held-back preserved lemon rind, and serve at once.