If you like pasta I think you will love this ham and mushroom tagliatelle with black pepper sauce. It's a creamy pasta dish that can be on the table in less than half an hour - perfect for a mid-week supper.
Tagliatelle with ham, mushrooms and a creamy homemade black pepper sauce is a delicious pasta dish to make when you're short of time.
I've been making this recipe for years, ever since I saw it in a magazine as a dip for potato wedges (without the tagliatelle of course). I took one look and decided it would make the perfect pasta sauce - and with a couple of adaptations, a new recipe was born!
The sauce itself takes around 20 minutes to cook so with only one or two minutes of prep, you can have this dish on the table in less than half an hour. (You can boil the pasta while you're making the sauce).
I love the taste of the crushed black peppercorns in the creamy sauce. And if you want to up the pepperiness slightly you can adjust the amount of peppercorns to your own taste.
Made without the tagliatelle, this sauce is great for pouring over a steak, because it's packed with mushrooms and tasty onions that complement a grilled steak beautifully.
And to go back to the origins of this recipe, it also makes the perfect dip for potato wedges. Just halve the quantity of milk and cornflour in this recipe, leave out the pasta, and serve as a dip alongside my crispy potato fries.
For extra colour, garnish with chopped parsley just before serving.
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What you will need:
Equipment
You will need a couple of saucepans - one for cooking the pasta and the other for making the ham and mushroom sauce.
Ingredients
**You can get the exact ingredient quantities on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
This recipe will serve 4 people.
- Ham - I use either sliced sandwich ham or ham off-cuts from my local supermarket. They are super cheap, and one packet is normally sufficient for 2 pasta dishes, so I chop it all up in one go and then freeze half in a plastic bag ready for the next meal. I also find that leftover gammon works really well with this recipe (especially leftover oven-baked gammon). The ham should be chopped into approximately 1cm pieces.
- Mushrooms - you can use button mushrooms, white closed-cap or brown chestnut mushrooms. Depending on their size you should cut them into halves, quarters or thick slices.
- Onions - white onions are preferable, but you could use red instead. The onions should be peeled and chopped into 1cm dice.
- Black peppercorns - you need whole peppercorns, which have been cracked open. You can use a mortar and pestle for this, or if you don't have a mortar and pestle, pop the peppercorns into a plastic bag and give them a whack with a rolling pin. It works just as well. Don't grind them up too finely though - they should be just cracked open and flattened.
- Tagliatelle - I find this is the best pasta shape for this recipe, but it doesn't really matter. Linguine or spaghetti will work too, as will shell noodles.
- Butter - this forms the base of the sauce, and is also used for softening the onions.
- Cornflour - you may know it as cornstarch - is used to thicken the sauce.
- Milk and cream - I use half milk and half double (or heavy) cream for this recipe. If you don't have cream you could use all milk, but in this case, I would recommend using full-fat milk.
What to do
Cook the pasta
Put the tagliatelle on to cook in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Boil for the time recommended on the packet. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and then rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Leave aside to drain until needed.
Other prep
- Peel the onions and cut them into 1cm dice.
- Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth to remove any bits of dirt and cut them into pieces.
- Cut the ham into 1cm dice.
- Mix the milk and cream in a jug and stir in the cornflour until there are no lumps.
Make the sauce
Grind the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until they are well cracked. Don't worry about making them too small, as long as they are all cracked it will be fine.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the onions (and garlic if you are using it) on low heat until they start to turn translucent. This should take around 5 minutes. Stir continuously.
Add the mushrooms and continue to stir-fry until the mushrooms release their moisture. Don't let them get too dry - they should just soften.
Stir in the ham and peppercorns and continue to fry for another 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
Stir in the prepared milk mixture.
Continue to stir over low heat until the sauce boils and thickens. If the sauce seems too thick, add another splash of milk.
At this point, you should taste the dish. I haven't listed salt as an ingredient, but you may find you need ½ teaspoon of salt in the sauce. Also, taste the strength of the pepper. If it is not peppery enough for your taste you can add freshly ground black pepper to spice things up a bit. Be careful with the pepper if you are going to freeze the sauce; the strength of the pepper does intensify on standing.
Add the cooked pasta and toss with 2 forks to combine. Try to get the ham and mushroom mixture nice and evenly distributed between the pasta. Leave it on low heat for another minute or two to let the pasta heat through.
Tip into a serving dish, garnish with chopped parsley and optionally sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese.
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Variations
Here are a few ways to vary the taste of this dish.
- Add two or three chopped cloves of garlic with the onions.
- For a cheesy version, stir 4 ounces (120 grams) of cream cheese into the sauce once the milk has been added.
- Swap out half of the onions for a small diced red pepper.
- Stir a handful of frozen peas into the sauce at the last minute.
Can I freeze this dish?
You can freeze any leftovers in a suitable freezer container for up to 3 months. To use, let it defrost in the fridge and then reheat gently in a saucepan until piping hot. You may find the sauce is a bit too thick, in which case you can add a splash of milk to thin it down a bit.
You may also find that if you freeze the dish after you have added the pasta, that the pasta is a bit too soft once it is defrosted. So my preference is to freeze the sauce on its own and cook the pasta fresh when needed.
Save for later
If you'd like to try this ham and mushroom tagliatelle yourself, why not pin the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Other recipes
Visit my pasta recipes page for other pasta recipes. Here are a few you can put together in half an hour:
📋The recipe
Ham and mushroom tagliatelle with black pepper sauce
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
- Chopping Board
- Morter and pestle OR rolling pin
- Saucepans
- Colander
Ingredients
- 8 ounce / 225 grams cooked ham chopped into 1cm dice
- 8 ounce / 225 grams onions chopped into 1cm dice
- 6 ounce / 150 grams button mushrooms quartered
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste or crushed garlic optional
- 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns or more to taste
- 2½ ounce / 75 grams butter
- 1½ tablespoons / 20 grams cornflour
- 1 cup / 240 ml milk
- 1 cup / 240 ml double cream
- 8 ounce / 225 grams dried tagliatelle or your pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
- chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a saucepan of boiling, salted water according to the instructions on the packet.8 ounce / 225 grams dried tagliatelle
- When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan and then fry the chopped onions and crushed garlic (if using) gently until the onions are soft and translucent. This should take about 5 minutes.8 ounce / 225 grams onions, 2½ ounce / 75 grams butter, 1 teaspoon garlic paste or crushed garlic
- Add the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry slowly until the mushrooms soften (about 3 minutes)6 ounce / 150 grams button mushrooms
- Stir in the ham and the crushed peppercorns and stir fry for another 2 minutes.8 ounce / 225 grams cooked ham, 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
- Mix the cornflour with the milk and cream. Stir well to remove any lumps and add to the pan.1½ tablespoons / 20 grams cornflour, 1 cup / 240 ml milk, 1 cup / 240 ml double cream
- Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and stir until the mixture thickens.
- Taste for seasoning. At this stage, you could add ½ teaspoon salt. Add extra ground black pepper according to your own taste (only if necessary).
- Add the cooked tagliatelle and mix well to combine, then let it simmer until the pasta is warmed through.
- Tip into a serving dish and garnish with chopped parsley, and grated parmesan cheese if desired .chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- Serve immediately with slices garlic bread and perhaps a fresh green salad.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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Celia Taylor
We loved this recipe. Easy to follow, quick to make and delicious. Thank you.
VJ
Glad you enjoyed it - it's one of my go-to recipes for when I'm looking for something quick and easy!
Hnin Hnin
Hello !I love it so much
This recipe is so delicious for all that i hope🥰🥰🥰🥰
VJ
Thank you - I love hearing that people enjoy my recipes 🙂