Who doesn’t love a bowl of creamy pasta and who doesn’t love mushrooms and garlic. You know where I am going with this. Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce will be dead center in your wheelhouse.
I am sure that I talked about creamy sauces before, that there is a fine line between overwhelming, too much cream or underwhelming, not enough cream. That line will be on a different spot for everybody, so adjustments may be in order if you tend to favor a lot of cream.
Don’t get me wrong, I love creamy sauces, for pasta, fish, eggs or any type of meat, but like with so many recipes, there should be balance, so you can taste the various aspects of that recipe.
When I was cooking the mushroom sauce and inhaled the aroma, I knew this Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce was going to be a killer.
What is in the creamy mushroom sauce?
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Garlic
- Cream
- White Wine
- Parmesan cheese
- Rosemary
- Salt and pepper
What type of pasta to use?
In principle, any type of pasta will do. However, certain pastas may have a better affinity for this sauce than others. Flat pastas, like tagliatelle, fettuccine, pappardelle are ideal for a creamy sauce, even when that sauce has few and thin parts in it, like mushrooms. The sauce will cling to the flat surface of the pasta.
The creamy mushroom sauce is the main ‘ingredient’ of this dish and you can make this while the pasta cooks.
Heat oil and butter in a skillet, add the garlic and onions until translucent. Don’t cook until they are crispy, you want the sauce to be soft and smooth. Add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. Also cook until tender and most of moisture has evaporated. This will be a total of 4-6 minutes.
Now it is time to add the liquid part; the cream, white wine (or a chicken or vegetable broth and a little bit of pasta water. Allow this to simmer and thicken. Inhale the lovely aroma!
Add grated Parmesan cheese, add salt and pepper if needed and finish with a little bit of rosemary. Be frugal with the rosemary; it is a strong herb that can easily overpower the sauce. If you want a thinner sauce, add more pasta water.
Now mix pasta and sauce and toss gently, until the pasta strands are coated with the sauce. Divide over 2 bowls or plates and sprinkle with some rosemary.
Enjoy!
Pasta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 ounces pasta pappardelle
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/4 onion chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon rosemary chopped
Instructions
- Bring water and salt to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the packaging.
- While the pasta cooks, heat oil and butter in a skillet, add the garlic and onions until translucent. Then add the mushrooms and some salt and pepper. (2-3 minutes) (Note 1)
- Cook until the mushrooms are brown and tender and most of moisture is evaporated. (2-3 minutes)
- Add the cream and white wine to the skillet and 1/4 cup of pasta water. Simmer until thickened, stir occasionally. (2-3 minutes) (Note 2)
- Add the Parmesan cheese half of the rosemary and salt and pepper if desired. You may want to add more pasta water to achieve the thickness you prefer.
- Add pasta and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce.
- Divide over 2 bowls and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary. (Note 3)
Notes
- For this sauce I prefer to slice the mushroom over chopping them in quarters. The slices are more tender and can ‘slide’ easy with the sauce to coat the pasta.
- If you don’t like to use wine, add chicken of vegetable broth instead.
- If you don’t like rosemary, you can use chives, parsley or thyme.
No Comments