Pbenjay's Blog

Mushrooms seem to be, well just mushrooms…no brilliant color like a red pepper, no deep green like a bunch of kale or broccoli rabe, no heartiness of a baked potato, nor the crunch of a carrot.  Is the best you can say about a mushroom is that it has virtually no calories?  Of course not!  Porcini mushrooms are particularly noted for their strong nutty and slightly meaty flavor and as they’re cooking, the aroma is delicious.  There’s also portabello mushrooms which will lend substance and hardiness to any dish.  And those are just the more common ones we find in grocery stores as well as Shitake, Oyster and Chanterelles.  Imagine cooking with Hen-of-the-Woods, Black Trumpets, Morels, Hedgehogs and Trumpet Royale!  Well now if you’re wondering why I led you down this path of edible funghi, I’m not surprise AND I’m not even sure why I did, except to add a bit of interest and knowledge to the recipe of the day.

Mushroom Pasta with Ricotta

INGREDIENTS:

Coarse salt and ground pepper

12 oz. rigatoni or other short pasta

2 TBS butter ( I always use unsalted)

1/2 small onion finely chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 lb white button or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 cup ricotta

4 tsp fresh lemon juice

shaved Parmesan, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente.  Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 TBS butter over medium.  Add onion and cook until softened , about 4 minutes.  Add wine and cook until almost evaporated, 4-6 minutes.  Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, about 8 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1 TBS butter.

Add mushroom mixture, ricotta, and lemon juice to pasta; stir to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce.  Serve topped with Parmesan.

Recipe from Martha Stewart EVERYDAY FOOD October 2009