Description
This might just be the world’s best mushroom pasta (or at least as good as your favorite neighborhood Italian spot♡). This light and creamy mushroom pasta gets its delicious forest flavor and perfectly “meaty” texture from one of our favorite stars of the fungi family — Italian Velvet Pioppini mushrooms. And it’s ready in less than 30 minutes! Nutty, sweet, tender sautéed pioppini mushrooms are perfectly mild (and look like something out of a fairytale) making them a natural fit for this creamy, garlicky, spicy mushroom and wine sauce. Get your favorite egg pasta ready because this pasta is a real treat!
Ingredients
- 1 pound fettuccini egg pasta (500g) (sub favorite egg pasta like tagliatelle or pappardelle)
- 1 pound Italian Pioppini mushrooms, cleaned and tough stems removed (500g) (sub button, cremini, or fresh porcini)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45g)
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- 3 to 4 dried whole red chili peppers, optional (sub crushed red chili flakes to taste)
- 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine (30g) (sub dry white wine or red wine)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30g)
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream (45g)
- scallions, green parts only (sub chives)
- 1 1/2 ounces grated Grana Padano cheese, plus more for sprinkling (45g) (sub Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan)
- salt to taste
- freshly grated nutmeg (optional but highly recommended)
Instructions
- Sauté the mushrooms. Add the olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, and whole red chili peppers to a 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat, and cook until the garlic is fragrant and blistered (about 3 to 4 minutes). Remove the garlic and chilis to a small bowl and set aside. To the hot skillet, add the mushrooms, and continue cooking without moving them for 3 minutes. Season with salt to taste, give them a quick toss, and then continue cooking them for 2 more minutes and add the garlic and chili peppers. Cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden brown.
- Deglaze the pan with wine. With the heat still on medium-high, add the wine to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (the fond) and stir to incorporate it. Set a timer for 3 minutes and cook until the wine has evaporated and the mushrooms look glossy and golden brown.
- Add the heavy cream and butter. Add the butter and cream, stir to combine, and cook for 1 minute before adding the sliced scallions tossing everything together. At this point, it should look like the mushrooms have soaked up most (or all) of the cream. *You may turn off the heat at this point if your pasta still needs time to cook and turn it back on about 2 minutes before the pasta is finished.
- Cook the pasta. While you’re finishing the mushroom sauce, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to al dente doneness according to directions.
- Finish the mushroom cream sauce. During the last 3 minutes of pasta cooking time, use a ladle to add about 1/4 cup of starchy cooking water to the mushroom cream mixture set over medium-high heat, and stir to incorporate it. You’ll notice the cream magically reappears and the sauce looks glossy from binding the starches to the fat in the cream and butter. Add more starchy water as needed to reach desired consistency stirring and cooking just until the sauce looks glossy and smooth (not watery). Adjust the seasonings (adding salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste), but remember you’ll be adding grated cheese in the next step which also has salt in it.
- Strain the pasta and assemble the pasta. Add the strained pasta directly to the mushroom sauce and toss everything quickly to combine. Turn off the heat, add the grated cheese, and toss well. Serve immediately, and Enjoy!
Notes
How to Prepare Mushrooms for Pasta — (Pioppini, Shitake, Champignon (Button), Cremini, or Even Fresh Porcini Mushrooms)
When preparing mushrooms for cooking pasta or any other recipe, it’s important never to soak them or submerge them in water. Instead, either use a mushroom brush (or a dry towel) to remove any dirt, or run them very quickly under cold water and then dry them immediately. I opt to dust the mushrooms off without using water so they stay nice and dry.
Next, you’ll want to snip off the end of the stems (especially if they have stubborn dirt that won’t come off. And lastly, depending on the variety of mushrooms you’re using, you’ll need to remove any “woodsy” or fibrous parts of the stems. But do not discard these pieces. Inedible mushroom stems make a great addition to homemade broth like ramen, or even chicken noodle soup. Simply freeze them if you’re not using them right away. For pioppini mushrooms, at least 3/4 of the stems are typically very tender, and useable.
How to Cook Mushrooms For Pasta — (Simple Techniques to Make Mushrooms Taste Great)
As you can see from the photos above, with just a little mushroom know-how it’s easy to cook mushrooms for pasta or to be eaten as a side dish. To cook the best mushrooms of your life, follow these simple techniques below.
Always make sure mushrooms are completely dry before cooking them. Mushrooms contain a lot of moisture and that’s not helpful for getting a good sear (which gives mushrooms excellent flavor). If you’ve washed mushrooms briefly under running water, pat them dry on all sides and then leave them to further dry out on a clean kitchen towel.
Make sure the skillet and oil are sizzling hot before adding mushrooms to cook. Preheat the skillet and oil to almost smoking before adding.
Do not add too many mushrooms to the skillet all at once. In order to get a good sear on mushrooms, they need to have room for released moisture to evaporate quickly. If you have too many mushrooms in the pan, they’ll steam instead of getting a golden sear (which is also a delicious way to cook mushrooms for pasta, but not what we’re going for in this particular mushroom pasta recipe).
Do not move the mushrooms around for at least 2 to 3 minutes after you’ve added them to the hot skillet. Mushrooms need direct contact with the hot skillet and oil to create a proper sear and this takes a few minutes to develop. It also allows some of the moisture to evaporate.
A Few Easy Substitutions & Swap-outs You Can Make
This creamy mushroom fettuccine pasta recipe is delicious exactly as is, but don’t be afraid to make substitutions using whatever you happen to have in your pantry and fridge. Here are a few easy substitutions you can make.
- Substitute dry white wine or red wine for the Marsala wine. This pasta will still be just as delicious.
- Substitute half and half for the heavy cream to lighten up this creamy mushroom sauce even more.
- Add a sprig of fresh thyme, chopped parsley to taste, or a couple of leaves of basil to add a different flavor to this mushroom pasta.
- If you’re in the mood for Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo, double the amount of butter, heavy cream, and grated Grana Padano.
- Substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano, or American Parmesan for the Grana Padano cheese.
- Substitute Pioppini mushrooms with champignon, porcini, cremini, or any other variety you love.
- To make this a creamy vegan mushroom pasta, increase the EVOO by 2 tablespoons (30g), omit the butter and heavy cream, and add slightly more starchy pasta water towards the end of cooking stirring constantly to create a silky, naturally creamy mushroom sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounce serving
