Spaghetti mare e monti is a pasta dish of squid and wild mushrooms – two ingredients that come from opposite ends of the Marche landscape.
Marche’s Adriatic coastline and the Apennine hills sit within an hour and a half of each. And this dish is a great example of how Marchigiani cooks have always drawn from the region’s diverse landscape to bring a tasty dish to the table.
Spaghetti mare e monti has two themes. Mare – the sea, represented by the calamari. And Monti, represented by forest mushrooms from the Marche’s mountain slopes. These are combined with white wine, cherry tomatoes, garlic, parsley, and a hit of dried chilli. Then all pulled together quickly in a hot pan and tossed with spaghetti. It quick and simple. And very tasty.
Use fresh porcini mushrooms if you can get them, but otherwise, a mix of chestnut mushrooms and dried porcini mushrooms is a good substitute.
Buon appetito! 🇮🇹
Frequently Asked Questions
Spaghetti mari e monti is a pasta dish made with squid (calamari) and mushrooms, usually porcini. The name means sea and mountains in Italian, describing the two main ingredients. It is quick to make and takes around 35 minutes from start to finish.
Yes. Rehydrate dried porcini in warm water for 20 minutes before cooking. The soaking liquid can be strained and added to the sauce for extra depth. Dried porcini often give a stronger, more concentrated flavour than fresh ones.
Squid goes rubbery when cooked too slowly at low heat. It needs either very brief cooking at high heat (2-4 minutes) or very long slow cooking (45 minutes or more). For this recipe, high heat and a short cooking time is what keeps it tender.
Yes. Prawns, mussels, and clams all work well in this dish and add to the mari element. You can use mixed seafood or replace the calamari entirely. Add shellfish at the same stage as the squid in the recipe.
The dish is found across coastal Italy, but Marche makes a particularly strong claim to it. The region has both a working Adriatic coastline and Apennine mountain slopes within a 90-minute drive of each other, making calamari and porcini genuinely local ingredients. Marchigiani food writers and local cooking blogs describe sea-and-mountain combinations as characteristic of the region’s kitchen.
More Marche Recipes
- Vincisgrassi – Marche’s layered pasta dish with meat ragu, chicken livers, and bechamel.
- Risotto alla Marchigiana – a Marche risotto served with sugo finto, a meatless sauce that takes its depth from slow-cooked vegetables.
- Fava ‘Ngreccia – a Marche side dish of broad beans cooked with anchovies, capers, and garlic.
Spaghetti mare e monti
Spaghetti with squid and mushrooms in a white wine and tomato sauce. A quick pasta dish from the Marche coast and Apennine hills, ready in 35 minutes.
Equipment
- Large pot for boiling pasta
- Large wide frying pan or sauté pan
- colander
- Chopping Board
- Chef’s knife
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- Slotted spoon
- Small bowl for soaking dried porcini
- Fine sieve for straining porcini soaking liquid
Ingredients
- 400 grams spaghetti ((good quality italian brand))
- 400 grams cleaned squid (calamari, bodies and tentacles)
- 250 grams chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
- 5 grams dried porcini (rehydrated in 150ml warm water)
- 200 grams cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 3 cloves garlic (lightly crushed)
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- Small bunch flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Place the dried porcini in a small bowl and cover with 150ml warm water. Leave for 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, then drain through a fine sieve and reserve the soaking liquid. Chop the rehydrated mushrooms roughly.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. Add the chestnut mushrooms and rehydrated porcini in a single layer and cook without stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until they colour on one side. Season with salt and toss, then set aside.
- Cook the spaghetti in the boiling salted water until just under al dente, about 2 minutes less than the packet instructions.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Then add the tomatoes, the chilli flakes, a pinch of salt and a good pinch of parsley. When the tomatoes are beginning to release their juices, add the white wine. Cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the white wine has reduced by half.
- Add the squid pieces and tentacles and cook gently until the squid is cooked. Just a few minutes.
- Using tongs, add the cooked spaghetti directly to the pan with the sauce. Toss over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding a splash of pasta water if the sauce needs loosening.
- Remove from the heat, add another pinch of parsley, and toss once more. Divide between four bowls and finish with the remaining parsley.
Notes
1. The dried porcini are not optional. They carry the earthy depth that makes the mountain half of this dish work. The chestnut mushrooms add bulk and texture; the porcini add flavour.
2. Strain the porcini soaking liquid through a fine sieve before adding to the sauce. It concentrates the mushroom flavour and is worth using.
3. Do not overcook the squid. High heat and short time keeps it tender. If it goes rubbery, it has overcooked.
4. Keep a cupful of pasta cooking water before draining. The starch helps the sauce coat the pasta evenly.
5. Mixed seafood such as prawns, mussels, or clams can replace some or all of the calamari. Add shellfish at the same stage as the squid.
6. Linguine works well in place of spaghetti. For the most Marchigiani version of this dish, use maccheroncini di Campofilone, an IGP pasta from the province of Fermo, if you can find it.
2. Strain the porcini soaking liquid through a fine sieve before adding to the sauce. It concentrates the mushroom flavour and is worth using.
3. Do not overcook the squid. High heat and short time keeps it tender. If it goes rubbery, it has overcooked.
4. Keep a cupful of pasta cooking water before draining. The starch helps the sauce coat the pasta evenly.
5. Mixed seafood such as prawns, mussels, or clams can replace some or all of the calamari. Add shellfish at the same stage as the squid.
6. Linguine works well in place of spaghetti. For the most Marchigiani version of this dish, use maccheroncini di Campofilone, an IGP pasta from the province of Fermo, if you can find it.
Spaghetti mare e monti
Spaghetti with squid and mushrooms in a white wine and tomato sauce. A quick pasta dish from the Marche coast and Apennine hills, ready in 35 minutes.
Equipment
- Large pot for boiling pasta
- Large wide frying pan or sauté pan
- colander
- Chopping Board
- Chef’s knife
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- Slotted spoon
- Small bowl for soaking dried porcini
- Fine sieve for straining porcini soaking liquid
Ingredients
- 400 grams spaghetti ((good quality italian brand))
- 400 grams cleaned squid (calamari, bodies and tentacles)
- 250 grams chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
- 25 grams dried porcini (rehydrated in 150ml warm water)
- 200 grams cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 3 cloves garlic (lightly crushed)
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- Small bunch flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Place the dried porcini in a small bowl and cover with 150ml warm water. Leave for 20 minutes, then drain through a fine sieve and reserve the soaking liquid. Chop the rehydrated mushrooms roughly.
- * Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- * Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. Add the chestnut mushrooms and rehydrated porcini in a single layer and cook without stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until they colour on one side. Season with salt and toss.
- * Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the squid pieces and tentacles. Cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes. The squid will release liquid. Keep the heat high and let it evaporate.
- * Add the white wine and let it bubble for 2 minutes until reduced by half.
- * Add the cherry tomatoes, the chilli flakes, and 3 to 4 tbsp of the reserved porcini soaking liquid. Cook over a medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes until the tomatoes soften and the sauce comes together.
- * Cook the spaghetti in the boiling salted water until just under al dente, about 1 minute less than the packet instructions.
- * Reserve a cup of pasta cooking water. Drain the spaghetti and transfer directly to the pan with the sauce. Toss over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding a splash of pasta water if the sauce needs loosening. Remove the garlic cloves.
- * Remove from the heat, add most of the parsley, and toss once more. Divide between four bowls and finish with the remaining parsley.
Notes
1. The dried porcini are not optional. They carry the earthy depth that makes the mountain half of this dish work. The chestnut mushrooms add bulk and texture; the porcini add flavour.
2. Strain the porcini soaking liquid through a fine sieve before adding to the sauce. It concentrates the mushroom flavour and is worth using.
3. Do not overcook the squid. High heat and short time keeps it tender. If it goes rubbery, it has overcooked.
4. Keep a cupful of pasta cooking water before draining. The starch helps the sauce coat the pasta evenly.
5. Mixed seafood such as prawns, mussels, or clams can replace some or all of the calamari. Add shellfish at the same stage as the squid.
6. Linguine works well in place of spaghetti. For the most Marchigiani version of this dish, use maccheroncini di Campofilone, an IGP pasta from the province of Fermo, if you can find it.
2. Strain the porcini soaking liquid through a fine sieve before adding to the sauce. It concentrates the mushroom flavour and is worth using.
3. Do not overcook the squid. High heat and short time keeps it tender. If it goes rubbery, it has overcooked.
4. Keep a cupful of pasta cooking water before draining. The starch helps the sauce coat the pasta evenly.
5. Mixed seafood such as prawns, mussels, or clams can replace some or all of the calamari. Add shellfish at the same stage as the squid.
6. Linguine works well in place of spaghetti. For the most Marchigiani version of this dish, use maccheroncini di Campofilone, an IGP pasta from the province of Fermo, if you can find it.
