mushroom tagliatelle with pine nuts and parmesan cream
Fall excitement comes in two flavors: squash or shroom. If you’ve spent any time here, you’re well aware which one I represent. But even though we’re headed into the season where I have every species of mushroom at my disposal, there is something to be said for the oldest and wisest (and available all year) among them: fully mature, big-boy portobellos.
Portobellos are adult criminis that concentrate their core shroomy essence with age. They’re earthier, meatier, funkier, and more flavorful than the babyboys that will one day grow up to be them. To me, they are THE quintessential mushroom flavor. They are also criminally underrated in pasta.
Vaguely inspired by the creamy spinach and mushroom strozzapreti from upscale chain restaurant North Italia, this pasta is really only one step more complicated than making fettuccine alfredo—but that step is definitely upward. As usual, we’re not messing with thick pasty flour-based sauces here and using pasta water to bind, so this dish still falls on the lighter side for what it is (have no illusions; it will never be health food). But the ever-so-slightly looser sauce, buttery thicc-sliced garlicky mushroom slabs, and studding of toasty pine nuts somehow lifts this up to another sophistication threshold, like an alfredo working chic fall boots and freshly-cut bangs.
I created this concept with tagliatelle specifically in mind for the role, but this dish will easily accomodate any thin, ribbonlike pasta in its cast: fettucine, pappardelle, linguine. You could even use wavy egg noodles, like you would in stroganoff or marsala, other dishes in which mature portobellos star (coincidence?). Whatever shape you use, just remember to undercook by about 2 minutes—you want your pasta still firm when it enters the sauce, in order for the garlic-parm cream to really work its magic while it finishes to al dente.
We served this straight out of the pan at “the bar” (our kitchen island), candles lit, a restaurant-supply rotary grater of parm off to the side, along with an Italian red whose claim to fame is being left out in the snow all winter to clarify. If that’s not the coziest little mindset in which to start off mushroom season 2021, I don’t know what is.
recipe
The perfect fall pasta for mushroom lovers. Tagliatelle pasta ribbons and meaty, buttery portobello mushrooms are tossed in a garlicky Alfredo-style sauce studded with toasted pine nuts and topped (of course) with fresh parm.
Effortful time: 25 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2 if we’re being real
you need
12 oz portobello mushrooms, wiped down and stems/gills removed (I used 6 caps of ~3” diameter)
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup heavy cream
Black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano
8-9 oz tagliatelle or other ribbon-style pasta, like pappardelle or fettuccine (I used 6 tagliatelle nests from Seggiano)
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cups reserved pasta water (you will not use all of it)
1/2 tbsp. dried parsley
More parm and cracked pepper for serving
make it
Prep steps. Boil a pot of salted water for pasta. Slice your cleaned, de-gilled, stemless mushrooms into 4 quarters and keep them arranged like a pie chart. Then slice across the entire mushroom to create 1/2” thick bite-sized slices. Mince your garlic.
Sauté the mushrooms. When pasta water gets close to boiling, heat a large skillet or sauté pan (I prefer stainless) over medium heat, and melt 2 tbsp. of the butter. Add the mushrooms and thyme and fry until deeply browned and the pan is dry, about 7-8 minutes. Stir or shake the pan periodically to keep it moving. It won’t look like enough fat, but fight the urge to add more.
Toast the pine nuts separately. While these are cooking, toast your pine nuts. Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat (yes, you’ll be using three stove burners, it’s fine), and add the nuts without oil. Toast, shaking them around in the pan often, for 3 minutes until golden. Watch them carefully, these guys burn easily and without warning. Put them into a prep bowl and set aside.
Cook your pasta. This is how we’ll finish everything at the same time.
Sauté the garlic in the mushroom pan. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter into your mushroom pan. Add the minced garlic to your mushrooms. Cook until garlic just fragrant and soft but not brown at all, about 30 seconds.
Create your cream sauce. Add the cream to your shroom skillet and drop the heat to medium low. Stir well to incorporate the butter with the cream. Salt and pepper it. Bring to a simmer, stirring periodically, for 4 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly and thickened.
Thicken your sauce. Drop the sauce’s heat to very low, just enough to keep it warm. Add the parm and parsley to the cream mixture and stir very well until velvety smooth and combined, a minute more. Let it hang out on very low heat, stirring regularly, until your pasta is ready to go.
Pasta, meet sauce. Depending on the pasta brand you used, your fettuccine should be approaching 2 minutes shy of al dente as soon as the sauce is ready, which is what you want. Using tongs, pull it from the cooking pot and straight into the sauté pan. Turn up the heat a bit to medium-low. Add some of your reserved pasta water and begin to toss the pasta with the sauce, adding more pasta water as needed to keep things loose n glossy, about 2 minutes or until the pasta is properly al dente. If it gets too thick or loses its shine, add more pasta water. This is why we save extra!
Finish it up. Toss in your pine nuts and give it one more good stir. Plate it up and serve right away with more parm.