Pasta al Funghi

I have been in the mood for pasta haven’t I? I am addicted to pasta just like Chinese’s addiction to rice. When the pasta is cook to al dante, with the right sauce, how can one not like it? And often it takes no longer than 20 minutes to prepare.

Couple of times when I made the Aussie style breakfast mushrooms for friends and family, they all loved it. It’s really simple with butter, cream (yes, really fattening!), garlic, salt, black pepper, milk and brown button mushrooms. With small adjustment the mushrooms makes perfect combination with pasta.

Ingredients (serving 2):

• 120 gram pasta of your choice, I highly recommend “Barilla Pappardelle” (3 balls)
• 7-8 brown button mushrooms – slice thinly
• 2 cloves garlic – chopped finely
• Half a shallot – chopped finely
• Few twigs of thyme – use only the leaves, my new favourite herb!
• Few twigs of oregano – use only the leaves
• Handful of parsley – chopped finely
• Black pepper
• Water and salt for boiling the pasta
• Olive oil
• Half a spoon of butter
• A full spoon of cream

Instructions:

1. Heat a pan with 2 tablespoon olive oil and butter. Add in shallot, cooked till translucent, add the garlic, stir for 10 seconds.
2. Add mushrooms. Keep stirring.
3. When the mushrooms are soften, add the cream and mix well, turn off the heat.
4. Boil pasta in salted water as instructed on packaging.
5. 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked, scoop over 3 spoon full of pasta boiling water to the mushrooms and turn on the heat again.
6. Add the fresh herbs into the mushrooms a minute before the pasta is cooked. (Add more thyme if you like it!)
7. Drained the cooked pasta and add into the pan, turn off the heat and mix well.
8. Serve on plate and sprinkle some black pepper to taste.

Bon appetito!

Note: You can op not to use cream. Without cream, you might want to sprinkle some pecorino before serving. Personally I find parmigiano has too strong taste that might over power the mushrooms taste.