Pasta with Umami Mushroom Butter
The CWD Forager series!
As many of you know, Family CWD has been embracing self-sufficiency1 since we moved out of the city. We’ve got a few raised beds in the backyard2 and, given we’re less than a mile from a farm with a CSA, we get most of our veggies during the summer from a CSA. The latest addition to the mix, though, was a small mushroom bed. I got some oyster spawn from North Spore, made a little bed with some straw, spread out the spawn, and let it rip3. A few weeks later, we had mushrooms popping up left and right. Pretty cool!
Related — but totally unrelatedly — Mrs. CWD and I took a mushroom foraging and cooking class at the aforementioned farm a few weeks ago. While we didn’t find any mushrooms in the wild4, we did have a lovely cooking class where we made pasta with mushrooms. I won’t bore you with the details of how I was selected to be the sous chef5, essentially making half the meal unaided. Instead, I’ll tell you about how we riffed on the recipe we made in the class6 a few weeks later using mushrooms we harvested from the backyard7.
Let’s party!
Start off by bringing a pot of well salted8 water to boil. Roughly tear a bunch of mushrooms910, dice up an onion and some garlic11. Then, heat up a large pan with a glug of olive oil until it’s just about smoking. Add in the mushrooms, and let cook until all the liquid is released and the mushrooms are starting to brown12, stirring occasionally. Once you’ve got some browning, drop in a few pads of butter, add in the onions and garlic, stir it all together, and let things start to soften.
At this point, you can start cooking your pasta13 — you’re going to want to cook it to just before al dente as it’s going to finish cooking in the sauce.
Once your mushrooms and veggies are starting to get aromatic, add in a slug of wine. The actual amount here will depend on the amount of stuff in the pan, but it’s hard to go too far overboard. Let this reduce, maybe adding some more butter and wine as needed, until your pasta is done. Drain it — reserving about a cup of the pasta water — and then toss it right into the pan with the mushroom sauce. Give it a good mix to incorporate, and then add in a few splashes of soy sauce14, stirring as you go. If the pasta starts to stick, add some of the reserved pasta water, and cook until the pasta is done and starts to shine with the sauce. Turn off the heat, grate on a copious amount of parm cheese, stir it up and enjoy with even more cheese!
So there we have it. I realize some of you might say “oh, mushrooms are gross!” — but still, I’d encourage you to give it a shot. You might find you just have been having bad mushrooms! Or, just omit the ‘shrooms and replace with something “meaty” —zucchini or squash might work well, maybe peppers, or if you like it, eggplant.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. Enjoy the weekend, take a walk, and drink water.
One reader has even gone so far as to call us “homesteaders!”
Inspired by reader and “viral” tweeter, Sam!
Seriously… couldn’t be easier.
Turns out mid-June is a time of year where absolutely no wild mushrooms are sprouting.
Probably because of my knife skills and the impeccable way I diced a shallot.
Again, thanks to Chef Thi for the awesome class!
Along with shallots and garlic scape from Powisset — #EatLocal.
As salty as the sea! These look cool.
Apparently you shouldn’t cut mushrooms, just tear them. You’re also not supposed to wash them, just brush them. #Facts.
As I mentioned, I used oyster mushrooms here. But you can really use any type you’d like or can find in the store. The “exotics” like maitake, chicken- or hen-of -the-woods, are great — but so are button, shitake, portabella. Whatever works!
Or, as I did, with shallots and scape.
This is SUPER important and can take a little while — 10-15 minutes depending on the amount of mushrooms you have. Be patient — it’s worth it!
If you’re using fresh pasta — which is always my preference — you can wait until after you’ve added the wine. I used dried farfalle here, because that’s all we had in the pantry, but a tagliatelle or fettucine would probably be a better option.
The soy sauce emphasizes the umami flavor of the mushrooms and is a flavor multiplier for the butter.
Another great one to try!! Looks scrumptious!