Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Linguine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce is the best date-night in or weeknight vegetarian pasta recipe. Easy and absolutely delicious creamy mushroom pasta sauce with chunky mushrooms, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Yum!
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds white button or cremini mushrooms (or a mixture of both)
- Kosher salt
- ½ pound linguine, spaghetti or fettuccine pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup finely chopped shallot
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- 1
Prepare the mushrooms: Trim the stems off the mushrooms. Tear the caps into generous bite-sized pieces - you want a nice chunky texture.
- 2
Bring a large (5-6 quarts) water to a boil along with 4 tablespoons kosher salt (use half the amount of regular table salt). Cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water and reserve.
- 3
While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large (12-inch) skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and spread them out in one layer. Cook 5 minutes without stirring. Give the pan a shake and stir the mushrooms around. Cook another 5 minutes.
- 4
At this point, the mushrooms should be taking on some color and releasing some liquid. Add 1 teaspoon salt, shallots, garlic, thyme and chili and stir well. Cook until the shallots are softened, about 2 minutes.
- 5
Add the lemon juice, creme fraiche and parsley to the mushrooms. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add 1/3 cup of the reserved water and stir, scraping the pan to release any browned bits.
- 6
Put the cooked pasta in the pan and use tongs to toss in the sauce. Add a bit more pasta water if the sauce seems dry. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.