Pasta with mixed mushrooms

Here is a simple recipe using my new flavor of wonderfulness--lemon! It adds a freshness and zip that keeps your mouth happy.

INGREDIENTS
-2T olive oil
-garlic to taste--we use 8 cloves
-10 oz baby bela mushroom caps, sliced thick (1/4" or so)
-8 0z regular white mushrooms, sliced the same thickness as above
-zest of one lemon (use a fine grater if you don't have a zester, being careful to only grate the yellow part)
-juice of the same lemon
-salt and pepper to taste
-8oz whole wheat long pasta of some sort (we used thin spaghetti)
-1/2 to 3/4 cup of the hot water you cooked the pasta in (I'm adding this as an ingredient so you don't pour it down the sink (like I did the first time!) when you drain the pasta!)
-1cup freshly grated romano cheese (parmesan is fine, too)
-1/2 cup fresh basil chopped (the fresh adds a ton of flavor, use fresh if at all possible)

Boil a pot of water for the pasta. Do the veggie prep while the water is heating.

Throw the pasta in the water to cook.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then saute the garlic till it smells yummy but hasn't turned brown. Add the mushrooms and cook on medium high till they are tender and lightly browned (4 or 5 minutes). Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

When the pasta is al dente, catch the reserved water you need and drain the rest of the pasta. Throw the pasta into the frying pan with the cheese, basil (reserve some for a garnish if you want), as much of the reserved pasta water as you need to make everything coat everything nicely, toss it around till all is well coated, serve right away.

No comments: