Creamy Mushrooms Pasta with a Twist!

Greetings!

Long time no see, I know… but it was mainly because my birthday took place and as most proud Leos it kept me busy. I had a wonderful day and organized a vegan picnic to more than 20 friends, I am planning on dedicating a post for that but it will have to wait.

Today’s pasta  sauce is for everyone who likes mushrooms. And pasta… The recipe is very simple to make, it takes almost no time and requires only a few ingredients. It can be made with any kind of pasta; I personally like Fettuccine or Tagliatelle with creamy sauces.  This time I used the Barilla Tagliatelle con Spinaci – whatever you use, make sure there’s no egg in the pasta (the original Italian recipes of both Fettuccine and Tagliatelle are with eggs!).

As for the mushrooms: my mushrooms’ world expended tremendously since I moved to Germany which is absolutely great! There are so many different kinds, in different seasons, always fresh, and very exotic in my eyes.  This recipe is made with simple white and brown champignon and with my favorite mushrooms of them all: Oyster mushrooms! These are no stem beautiful mushrooms, you don’t even need to cut them, just torn them up! They have a mild taste and a wonderful texture!

I mentioned that there are no stems for a reason: when I first moved to Germany, someone I trust told me to remove all mushrooms stems before using them. When I asked why she said one word: Chernobyl. I do not know if it’s true. And I am sure most of my mushrooms are not even ground grown, but still, this “warning” stuck with me and I always remove the stems of the mushrooms…

The twist in this super easy sauce is Asian: 2 spoonful of soy sauce are making such a huge difference!

Soy sauce?! Yes!

Ingredients – for 2-3 people

• Mushrooms – these little devils like to shrink, so although you think you have enough, it is never enough! I normally use two baskets of mushrooms and some extra on the side. I used a basket of white champignon, a basket of Oyster mushrooms and a few brown champignon
• Your favorite pasta
• 1 box of Alpro soy cream for cooking (not the sweet one!)
• Salt & pepper
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small – medium onion
• Small amount of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 spoonfuls of soy sauce (ta da!)

Directions:

• Cut onion and garlic and fry in a bit of olive oil (this is, ladies and gentleman, the first step in 90% of the food that I make) – 2-3 minutes on law-med heat

• Wash/peel/cut mushrooms  – shortly: just make sure they are clean – I know mushrooms should not be washed but sometimes there’s no other choice
• Add mushrooms: I added the white ones, cooked for 2-4 minutes, stirred well, added the brown ones, stirred well and cooked for 2-3 minutes

• By now, your pan is overdosing mushrooms and you can barely stir them but fear not, soon, the capacity will shrink
• At this point I added a handful of pine-nuts – these are so pricey in Germany and Israel, I actually brought an almost one kilo bag from my last NYC visit – they are from China though

• Add the other mushrooms (my Oysters!)

• Stir well
• Now it’s time to start boiling the pasta water and cook pasta according to instructions (yes, I am joking again, I never cook it according to instructions)

• After 5 minutes of cooking the mushrooms and stirring very well add the soy cream
• Add freshly ground salt & pepper
• Add a small amount of freshly grated nutmeg
• Add the 2 soy sauce spoons

Salt & Pepper, Nutmeg. Soy Cream and Soy Sauce

• Stir well, lower heat and let cook for 6-10 minutes or until the soy cream is bubbling
• Taste and fix if needed

Serve over the pasta and enjoy!

Oh wait! I also added tiny olive oil/garlic toasts here: slice bread or rolls, brush with olive oil and crushed garlic and toast for 5 minutes in the oven (200 c / 400 f) – a wonderful simple addition!