Creamy Mushroom Pasta Sauce with Pappardelle
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: ~4 side servings or a few larger dinner portions.
 
This is a rustic and rich fresh mushroom sauce, perfect over fresh pasta, easily made in one skillet.
What to get:
  • 1.5 cups Shitake mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup White Button mushrooms, chopped roughly
  • 1 cup Oyster mushrooms, chopped
  • 2 cups Crimini mushrooms, chopped roughly
  • 1 shallot, chopped finely
  • 3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped finely
  • 4 oz mascarpone cheese
  • 3 sage leaves, small, fresh, chopped
  • 3 sprigs thyme leaves, fresh, chopped
  • 3T butter, unsalted (for sautéing shallot & garlic)
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • 1.5T flour, all-purpose (for roux)
  • ¼ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
  • 9 oz fresh pappardelle pasta (or dried if not fresh)
  • *parmesan cheese to top as desired.
  • *fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)
What to do:
  1. Rinse and chop mushrooms roughly (I left some smaller mushrooms sliced only, for texture).
  2. In a large, rimmed skillet or pot, melt 2T butter and sauté the shallots, garlic with pinch of salt & pepper, until tender (~5 mins).
  3. Add the mushrooms, thyme & ¼ cup wine, and continue to sauté on medium-low, letting fluids evaporate some (~10-15 mins).
  4. Make roux to thicken sauce by adding 1T butter to pan, then sprinkling ~1.5T flour over mix to begin roux, stirring to incorporate flour into mix.
  5. Simultaneously, add ~1/4 cup wine to sauce gradually, stirring continuously until absorbed (sauce should be thickened & smooth, add more wine or water if needed).
  6. Reduce heat to low and let sauce simmer, adding the fresh sage, salt & pepper (to taste), stir occasionally.
  7. While sauce is simmering, boil pasta noodles in a large pot of salted water, drain but reserve ~1T starchy pasta water and add back into sauce and stir).
  8. Fresh pasta will cook mush faster, so only make a few minutes before serving.
  9. Serve fresh pappardelle noodles with mushroom sauce on top, and finish with freshly grated parmesan & little chopped parsley.
Notes:
If you can make or buy fresh pasta for this, it is better, but any noodle would work! I prefer the wide egg noodles, such as pappardelle for this type of creamy sauce. This would also go well over rice, chicken or a protein. You can add different mushroom varieties if you have them available!
Recipe by the dinnervine at http://www.dinnervine.com/2014/10/creamy-mushroom-pasta-sauce/