Pasta is an easy and quick meal to prepare on a busy weeknight. This is the first of many pasta recipes to come. If you’re too pressed to clean and slice the mushrooms yourself, pre-sliced mushrooms can now be found in the market. (Wheat and gluten free if using an alternative grain pasta, cow dairy free if using grated Romano cheese and sheep-milk ricotta, corn, soy, and egg free, sugar free.)
1/2 cup olive oil
1½ pounds mushrooms of your choice, cleaned and sliced
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
Leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh tarragon
1½ tsp sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
½ – ¾ pounds pappardelle or fettuccine
Salt for pasta water
Warm ¼ cup olive oil in a large saucepan; add the chopped onion and sauté over a medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are giving up their liquid. Add another ¼ cup olive oil over the mushrooms, salt, pepper and tarragon leaves. Toss the mushrooms with the other ingredients. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water with one handful of salt to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the cooked pasta. Toss with olive oil to keep from sticking. Add pasta water to the mushroom mixture and heat through another two minutes or so.
Divide pasta into 4 bowls. Top with a generous portion of the mushroom sauce. Sprinkle with fresh chopped tarragon or fresh chopped parsley as an option. Serve with fresh grated Romano or Parmigiano cheese, and if you like, a scoop of ricotta cheese.
