Miso Rigatoni ai Funghi

Bring a pot of water to boil, about 2–3 quarts / 2–3 liters, just as you're starting to make your sauce.

Salt your water a little lighter than usual, about 2 tsp kosher salt for 2–3 quarts of water. The miso, pancetta, and parmesan already provide plenty of salt here.

Boil rigatoni to just under recommended al-dente time—usually about 10–12 minutes depending on the package. Start boiling your pasta once your pancetta is nearly finished cooking so that it'll be ready around the same time as your sauce.

Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water to use for the sauce, even if you might not use all of it.

Bring your stainless steel pan to medium-high heat. Dry sear your mushrooms in your stainless steel pan (no oil), about 6–10 minutes. Continue cooking until the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms develop a deep golden-brown sear. Work in batches if necessary. Then remove and set aside.

In the same pan at low-medium heat, render your pancetta/bacon until crisp, about 5–7 minutes. Then remove and set aside, leaving about 1 tbsp of the fat in the pan.

Add 1 tbsp of butter and your sliced garlic to your pan and sauté for about 1–2 minutes until the garlic is pale golden.

Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken stock and deglaze the pan, scraping up the fond for your sauce. Continue to simmer for about 1–2 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk 1 tbsp of miso paste with about 2–3 tbsp of the hot stock from your pan until smooth, then stream it back into the pan. Continue to simmer gently.

Pour in 3/4 cup of heavy cream, 1 tsp of chopped thyme, and 1/2 tsp of cracked black pepper. Continue to simmer on low-medium heat for about 3–5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken slightly.

Add a small splash of reserved pasta water, about 2–4 tbsp, once your pasta is nearly finished cooking. Continue to simmer gently. You want the sauce to be slightly loose at this point since it'll thicken once you toss in your pasta. Add more pasta water later if necessary.

Turn to low heat and toss back in your mushrooms and pancetta. Stir for about 1–2 minutes to bring everything back up to temperature.

Drain your pasta and toss it into the pan with your sauce. Stir for about 1–2 minutes over low-medium heat. Add another splash of pasta water if the sauce gets too thick.

Turn off the heat and add a squeeze of lemon juice, about 1–2 tsp, as you're wrapping up. Give everything one final toss and taste for salt. Add more if necessary.

Plate your rigatoni, making sure to get some mushrooms and pancetta in each serving.

Season with freshly cracked black pepper.

Add freshly grated parmesan on top, about 2–3 tbsp per serving.