Whole Wheat Fusilli

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Rinse, trim, and quarter the mushrooms. Rinse, trim, halve, core, and slice the fennel.

Put the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When it’s hot, add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring frequently until they soften and brown a little, 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally until the fennel begins to soften and the mushrooms dry a little, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir occasionally. Start tasting it after 7 minutes; it should be tender but not mushy. Remove about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and reserve. When the pasta is done, drain it into a colander. Rinse and dry the parsley and tarragon; trim the toughest stems and chop enough leaves to measure 1/4 cup parsley and 1 1/2 teaspoons tarragon (save the rest of the herbs for another use). Chop the pecans.

Return the skillet to high heat and add 1/4 cup white wine or water. Cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until almost all the liquid is gone, 1 or 2 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the pasta and about 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water. Cook, stirring frequently and adding more water a tablespoon at a time to keep the mixture moist, until the pasta is coated, another minute or 2. Stir in the herbs and lots of pepper; taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the pasta sprinkled with the pecans.