Garlic mushroom lemon pasta

Mushrooms are my latest obsession. Shitake, portabello, chestnut and even those little white button ones. If it’s a ‘shroom’, it’s grabbed my attention. So last week I decided to cook an absolute tonne with them.

I’ve always been quite partial to a mushroom. But this latest fascination kicked off after listening to a ‘foodcast’ by the guys at Bon appetit. They dedicated an episode to all things ‘shrooms; how to clean, prep, cook them etc.

My favourite takeaway from the show was learning the best way to cook them. Plenty of fat (butter and olive oil mix) and high heat gives them a lovely caramelisation on the outside while maintaining their ‘meaty’ texture on the inside. Mushrooms have high water content, so when cooked slowly they release excess moisture which will make them soggy. No one wants that.

So this weeks recipe is all about practising this cookery technique to create another delicious easy mid-week dinner. So, I have created a garlic, mushroom, lemon pasta dish for you. Fresh tagliatelle is my pasta of choice and goes perfectly with this pasta sauce. So if you want to use one type of mushroom or four (like me), enjoy my latest tasty dinner. If you only liked mushrooms before you’re going to LOVE them now.

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Garlic mushroom lemon pasta (2 people)

• 20g salted butter
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 200g mixed mushrooms (shitake, button, chestnut, portobello)
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme
• 10g Fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 50g Rocket leaves,
• 1/2 lemon, juice and zest
• Sea salt
• 20g parmesan, grated
• 250g pasta ( I prefer fresh tagliatelle with this dish)

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GARLIC MUSHROOM LEMON PASTA (2 PEOPLE)

• First, MELT the butter in a large frying pan and ADD the olive oil. Next, FRY the garlic on a low heat for 3-5 mintes until softened. Make sure it doesn’t brown.
• Next, ADD the mushrooms the pan, turn the HEAT up high and cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have caramelised slightly on the outside. Sprinkle over with dry thyme.
• When the mushrooms have nearly finished cooking, ADD most of the parsley (reserve some for serving), rocket and lemon juice. Season with salt.
• In the meantime, COOK the pasta as instructed on the packet in salted boiling water. RESERVE a cupful of pasta water before draining.
• DRAIN the pasta and ADD to the mushrooms with the grated parmesan. POUR a couple of tablespoons of pasta water and give the pasta and mushrooms a good STIR. This should create a glossy creamy emulsion with the parmesan cheese.
• Serve with chopped parsley and lemon zest.