Mushroom, ham, and cream sauce (Paglia e fieno) from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (page 195) by Marcella Hazan

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • jenburkholder on April 29, 2026

    I made this to use up some fresh GF pasta that I had. Since it was the whole meal and not a starter, I used the full recipe for a smaller portion of pasta so there was more "stuff" in it. The ham I had, while good, was quite smoky/salty and overwhelmed the flavor a bit. The chopped mushrooms were very nice, and it was a very enjoyable though rich dinner along with an arugula salad.

  • dc151 on April 07, 2026

    I made this with onion, leftover ham, porcini mushrooms and added peas. Very good! Sauce came together while pasta was boiling.

  • vanessameryl on January 13, 2026

    6 tablespoons of cream is about 1/3 cup. Used Costco deli ham and it was great. Would be good w some peas throw in too

  • Breadcrumbs on November 11, 2013

    p. 195 - I don’t have a lot of experience cooking from Marcella’s books but I do recall her recipes to be especially prescriptive so I selected this one, in part, because it wasn’t overly verbose therefore it didn’t demand much of my time in advance. I should also note that I didn’t make my own fettuccine and used a fresh from the Italian market version instead. I did appreciate Ms Hazan’s specificity around cooking the mushrooms and was quite pleased to get precisely the results she described in the exact amount of time she suggested. The recipe calls for cremini or button mushrooms and I opted for the former. It also suggests onions or shallots and I opted for shallots. The finished dish was far greater than the sum of its parts and the ham/mushroom combo was delightful in the light, creamy sauce. I’d definitely make this again. A great way to make use of leftover ham. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/325700#8444611

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this recipe

This recipe does not currently have any reviews.

You are reporting a broken online recipe link to EYB. Please confirm that you want the report submitted. Please also suggest the correct URL for this online recipe to the below textbox.