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Two servings of Garlic Mushroom Pasta on brown plates.
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Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Creamy Mushroom Pasta is an easy and luxurious dinner with garlic, caramelized onion and lemon. With the perfect amount of creaminess, this pasta is great for special occasions and yet is simple enough for week nights.
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Keyword Creamy Mushroom Pasta, Garlic Mushroom Pasta, Onion Mushroom Pasta
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 523kcal
Author Heather

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil *See Note #1
  • 1 medium yellow onion (aka brown onion) *thinly sliced, about 2 cups
  • 2 pounds mushrooms *sliced, See Note #2
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine *See Note #3
  • 4-6 cloves garlic *thinly sliced
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme *remove leaves from stalks, See Note #4
  • 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley (aka flat leaf parsley)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 1 pound pasta of choice *See Note #5

Instructions

  • Bring large pot of water to boil. Salt the water well and cook the pasta to al dente, following the instructions on the package. (Bring the pot of water to boil early on in the cooking process and start cooking the pasta at around the same time as sautéing the mushrooms.)
  • Heat a large stainless steel frying pan or enameled cast iron pan over medium/high heat. Add 1/4 cup oil (or half oil and half butter) to the pan. Add thinly sliced onions and stir to coat with fat. Cook for 20 minutes making sure to stir often.
  • Heat a separate large frying pan over medium/high heat and add remaining oil (or half oil and half butter) to the pan. See Note #6
    Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook stirring regularly until mushrooms have lost most of their moisture, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Stir the wine into the mushrooms and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth, sliced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, caramelized onions and a generous amount of black pepper. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir in heavy cream and fresh herbs. Bring back to a simmer for about 4 minutes and then turn off heat. Stir in Parmigiano Reggiano.
  • Add cooked pasta and stir well. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and chopped Italian parsley.

Notes

Recipe Notes
Note #1- Use a 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for the onions and a 1/4 cup for the mushrooms. Also, the olive oil may be divided with butter (2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter for the onions and the same for the mushrooms). 
Note #2- Use 2- 2 1/2 pounds of at least two kinds of mushrooms. For this recipe I used Shitake and Baby Bellas. 
Note #3- A dry white wine such as sherry, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.
Note #4- The easiest way to remove the leaves from the stalk is to hold one end by pinching between 2 fingers and with the other hand pinch fingers together in a similar, but looser fashion. Run fingers down the length of the stem.
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme can replace the fresh thyme and should be added at the same time as the garlic.
Note #5- Cavatappi pasta is what is seen in the photos and video. Using a tubular pasta works very well for this recipe because the hollow insides hold the creamy sauce very well. See "best pasta to use for creamy mushroom pasta" section above in post for a list of tubular pasta options. 
Note #6- If you do not have 2 large frying pans, sauté the onions first and then remove them from the pan. Use the same pan to then cook the mushrooms. This will add 20 minutes onto the cooking time. 

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 600mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 876IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 198mg | Iron: 2mg