pasta

Mushrooms are among my favorite foods / flavors. I have played with using balsamic vinegar in a variety of dishes, but it’s not a flavor I use very often. So, this recipe on Pinterest piqued my curiosity. We regularly do a meal we call ‘American Spaghetti’ which is very similar to this without the mushrooms, cream or the balsamic. Then again I also do a knockoff version of carbonara that uses the cream and egg yolks. This is somewhere in between. Enjoy.

Remember, I am king of the 20 minute meal. Most of what I cook is ‘designed’ as low-impact cooking: good flavor, but not a lot of time in the kitchen.

BALSAMIC MUSHROOM PASTA

PREP TIME 10 mins

COOK TIME 15 mins

TOTAL TIME 25 mins

This recipe makes enough for 2 people with appropriate side dishes. With a side of crusty bread you might squeeze three servings out of it. If you’re a hearty eater and the pasta is all you’re having — you might need to multiply the recipe a little … some of us have been known to eat 3 or 4 ounces of pasta a person when in the right mood!

Get a big pot of salty water going for the pasta. While you’re waiting for it to come to a boil, prep the shallot, garlic, and mushrooms (or buy the pre-sliced ones!). Once the water is boiling, toss in the pasta and start heating the butter and oil in another pan and get going on the sauce. It comes together so quickly – just saute the shallots, garlic, and mushrooms in the butter and oil, deglaze the pan with some balsamic, and then add in the cream.

(If you are a one induction burner guy like me, you’ll realize as you read through this recipe that you need to change things around a little. The whole sauté, deglaze, and saucing thing if fine if you’re going to cook pasta in one container while you are making the sauce in another. But i’m sure you’re smart enough to figure that out, First, do your sautéing and deglazing, the reserve those things in a bowl while you’re pasta is cooking. After you have drained the pasta then pop your almost completed sauce back into the pan, add the cream, extra butter, and let the sauce come together. Sometimes doing the single burner thing is easier, other times it’s not! — in this recipe it’s not!)

Some parmesan and parsley finishes the whole thing off.

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces fettuccine pasta
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup shallot, finely diced (if your RV’ing near some little town where you can’t find shallots, then use an onion instead — hey — gotta be flexible, right?)
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup balsamic vinegar ( I might trim the balsamic a little, but that’s just me)
¼ cup cream
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus a few tablespoons for garnish
salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook the fettuccine according to the directions on the package. While the pasta is cooking prepare the mushroom sauce.
In a large pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once melted, add in the shallots and garlic and cook for a few minutes or so, just until softened.
Add in the sliced mushrooms and toss them around to get them coated in the butter and olive oil. If needed, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil if the mushrooms get too dry. Let them cook and brown for about 8 minutes.
Pour in the balsamic vinegar and stir everything together making sure to scrape up all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in the other tablespoon of butter. Cook everything together for a couple of minutes and then turn off the heat and move the pan off the burner.
Pour in the cream and parmesan cheese and stir to combine.
Add the cooked fettuccine to the sauce and toss to combine. Add in the fresh parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper (about a ½ teaspoon of each).
Serve with additional parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.