Creamy Mushroom Linguine

This dish can be prepared quickly from common ingredients that are available year-round. It’s a flexible recipe that can be a good starting point for your own experimental variations. Linguine is wider and has a “meatier” texture than spaghetti, but try it with other types of pasta.

Linguine, or other pasta
Fresh mushrooms, sliced
Butter
Chopped onion
Garlic cloves, crushed
Coarse ground pepper
Milk, heavy cream, or half & half
Wedge of parmesan cheese for grating
Fresh chives or parsley for garnish
Sherry or dry white wine

Mushrooms are the main character in this dish. Use a handful of fresh mushrooms for each person being served. Slice each mushroom like a tiny loaf of bread, about ¼” thick.

While you are slicing mushrooms, start heating a big pot of salted water for cooking the pasta.

In a large heavy skillet, melt at least a tablespoon of butter for each person you will be serving and sauté the sliced mushrooms over medium heat until they release their juices. (If you like crispy mushrooms, you can let them go a little bit longer, until their edges look toasted.) Finely chopped onions, garlic and coarsely ground black pepper can be sautéed with the mushrooms, as you wish. I particularly like the flavor combination of mushrooms with black pepper, so I add pepper boldly!

You can reduce heat to delay the sauce at this point, to be sure the pasta is about half-finished before proceeding. I usually pick linguine for this recipe, but any pasta will work. A shaped pasta, such as shells or bellflower-shaped Campanella will hold lots of sauce and is an amusing variation.

When cooking pasta, make sure the water is boiling hard before adding the noodles. Snap long pasta in half and spread it around like a pinwheel in the boiling water, so all sides of the noodles get wet right away. Stir immediately to prevent sticking together, and boil uncovered for the time recommended on the package, stirring a couple of times.

When the sauté is nearly finished, make a roux. (Roux is a sauce thickened with flour. Gradually sprinkle dry flour into the sauté butter and stir continually over medium heat until all the butter is absorbed by flour, with no lumps or excess dry flour.) When the roux has begun to brown, add a thin stream of milk/cream very gradually while stirring over the heat, until the consistency has thickened to your liking and is smooth and sauce-like. Stir in lots of fresh-grated parmesan cheese, and a splash of sherry to finish.

Drain the pasta, plate it, and cover generously with the mushroom sauce. Top with fresh chives or parsley, snipped into pieces about ¼” long. Serve immediately with more fresh-grated parmesan, and a grinder of black pepper available.