Creamy mushroom pasta, yummy
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Creamy Mushroom Pasta (simple and delicious!)
This Creamy Mushroom Pasta is the perfect easy dinner to feed a family of four. Hidden in this smooth and silky mushroom sauce is an absolute explosion of flavour just waiting to be devoured!
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- Olive Oil, as needed
- 12.3oz / 350g Mushrooms of choice, sliced (see notes)
- 3 tbsp / 45g Butter
- 3 large cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 12.3oz / 350g Conchiglie, or pasta of choice (dry weight)
- 240ml / 1 cup Chicken Stock
- 240ml / 1 cup Double/Heavy Cream, at room temp
- 40g / 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley, plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp finely diced Fresh Chives
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add a good drizzle of oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and space them out as best you can. Leave to fry for a couple of mins until they begin to sweat, then stir them to flip them over. Continue frying until they build up a golden crust (important to develop flavour). Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper, then push them to the outside of the pan and lower the heat to medium.
- Melt in the butter then add the garlic. Fry for a minute or so (careful it doesn't burn), then incorporate everything and pour in the chicken stock. Allow the stock to simmer for a few minutes until it reduces by half (just eyeball it).
- Meanwhile, pop your pasta in salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Retain a cup of starchy pasta water before draining.
- To the pan, add the cream, chives, parsley, parmesan and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer and occasionally stir until the sauce thickens. Add in the drained pasta and stir until the sauce thickens around and clings to the pasta. If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of pasta water to thin out slightly. You might not need to do this. If the sauce is still quite thin, continue to simmer and stir until it thickens and wraps around the pasta.
- Check for seasoning and adjust if needed (make sure the sauce is properly seasoned to bring out the best in this simple sauce). Serve with plenty of parmesan and parsley then tuck in and enjoy!
Notes
a) Mushrooms - For this recipe I usually use Chestnut Mushrooms. Shiitake Mushrooms (with the stalks removed) also go really well. But you can really add any variety you like.b) Browning the mushrooms - In order to get the most flavour out of your mushrooms, it's important to get a nice browning on them.
- Firstly, make sure the pan isn't overcrowded, this will cause the mushrooms to steam instead of fry, reducing their ability to take on colour. Fry in batches if needed.
- Secondly, ensure you don't keep moving themabout. Allow the mushrooms to keep contact with the pan for a good amount of time before you stir them about.
- Thirdly, only add salt afterthey've browned. Adding salt to the mushrooms will extract moisture and again encourages steaming instead of browning.
c) Herbs - I did actually play around with different herbs in this recipe and both Thyme and/or Tarragon work really well. I've kept this recipe without either because I find chives and parsley add enough flavour, without overpowering the dish. Adding thyme or tarragon will change the taste quite considerably, but feel free to add if you're confident you'll enjoy the addition. In both instances, just a small amount will work fine.
d) Parmesan- Ensure it's freshly grated (or grated in the bag) the powdery stuff will turn the sauce grainy.
e) Calories - Based on using 1 tbsp Olive Oil for frying and divided by 4.
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