Do you love mushrooms? We eat a lot of mushrooms in our house (well, at least the adults do). Mushrooms make a great meat substitute, particularly when they are in a pasta. This pasta dish is one I make rather frequently. It’s very light and full of mushroom flavor. Three varieties of mushrooms are cooked down in garlic, butter, and marsala wine. The pasta is finished with parmesan cheese and parsley. It’s a light vegetarian style pasta that is packed with mushroom flavor.
Ingredients
1 lb dried gemelli pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
16 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
4 oz oyster mushrooms, sliced
4 oz baby shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp + ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
½ cup marsala wine
½ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup chopped parsley
Fill a medium sized stock pot about halfway with water, and bring it to a rapid simmer over medium or medium-high heat. Add the two tablespoons of salt and stir to dissolve into the water. Adjust the temperature to maintain a rapid simmer and add the dried gemelli. Cook the pasta to al dente, roughly 10-12 minutes.
Add the olive oil and then the butter to a pan over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the garlic. Let the garlic cook for 30 second to a minute, becoming fragrant. Add the mushrooms, season with the ½ tsp of salt and. ¼ tsp pepper, and toss to blend and coat with butter and garlic. Allow the mushrooms to cook for about 5 minutes and fully soften. Toss regularly while cooking.
Once the mushrooms have fully softened, you should have a good amount of liquid from the mushrooms in the pan. This is a good thing. Add the marsala wine to the mushrooms and liquid. Stir to incorporate. Allow the liquid to reduce by half, about 10 minutes.
Reserve a few ladlefuls of the pasta water in a small bowl and then drain the pasta in a colander. Return the drained pasta to the pot, add in the mushrooms and liquid, and toss to fully combine. Add in the parmesan cheese and toss to blend. Add a ladle of the pasta water and stir well to melt the cheese. As you stir, the pasta water and melted cheese will thicken the sauce and adhere the sauce to the noodles. Add in the chopped parsley and stir to combine.
Your gemelli is now ready to serve. Add a portion to a pasta bowl and garnish with additional chopped parsley. Enjoy!