Fabulous Fungi: Pasta with Mushrooms and Goat Cheese
Mushrooms truly are amazing. If you read a previous post about them, you already know that mushrooms aren’t a plant or animal.
And you know those mushrooms from Mario Bros? (Sorry, my girl is super into Mario and his entourage at the moment.) Those are real. And slightly poisonous. Not only do they look just like the ones in the game, but if you eat the skin it can make you feel larger, or make the world feel larger. Which is pretty much what they do in the game. (I do not know this personally, by the way.)
But back to mushrooms as food. Not only are mushrooms extremely high in nutrients, but they also are a great source of Vitamin B (a metabolism booster). And they’re made up of 80%-90% water, making them low in calories.
Some experts say the taste of mushrooms belongs to a “fifth flavor”–beyond sweet, sour, salty, and bitter–known as umami, from the Japanese word meaning “delicious.” And with today’s recipe, you’ll be saying delicious… a lot.
What’s great about this recipe is its flexibility. Use whatever pasta you have on hand. And choose what mushrooms you have. You can swap out the herbs and choose the greens you love. No lemon juice? No worries. Use some white wine. Truly a great way to experiment.
Pasta with mushrooms and goat cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta I prefer rotelli or ziti.
- 12 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1/8 cup fresh thyme, chopped
- 1/8 cup fresh oregano, chopped
- 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbs lemon zest
- 2 cups fresh greens I typically use spinach.
- 6 oz soft goat cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta in heavily salted boiling water until al dente. Save 1/4 cup of the water from the pasta.
- Meanwhile, in a pan, heat the oil to medium high, and cook the garlic, mushrooms, herbs and lemon zest together for about 5 minutes. Stir every so often.
- Reduce heat to low. Add lemon juice and greens. Cook for about two minutes until greens are wilted.
- Add the pasta water and the Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted.
- Combine the drained pasta with the mushroom mixture. And small bits of the goat cheese and stir them into the pasta. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.
