This is one of those recipes for when you need pasta and you need it yesterday. It gives you all the carby comfort you need and is super quick to make. Follow me…
Pan-Fried Mushrooms
Mushrooms are a key ingredient in this dish, so it’s important to treat them right. As such, here are a few tips to get you started:
Tips for frying mushrooms
Cleaning – Don’t wash them, it’ll add more moisture than there already is. If they’re dirty just use a damp cloth to clean them. Space – When you fry the mushrooms just make sure you space them out as best you can. You don’t want to cram them all in the pan on top of each other because they’ll just steam instead of fry. You want to properly brown each side to bring out the best in their flavour. Seasoning – You’ll of course want to season the mushrooms, but I recommend doing it once they’re fried. Salt draws out moisture, so don’t salt them at the start otherwise they’ll steam. Garlic – Mushrooms and garlic are a match made in heaven!
What kind of mushroom should I use?
Realistically most varieties of mushrooms will work. My personal favourites are baby portobellos or chestnut mushrooms, but button mushrooms or even shiitake mushrooms will do the job. Process shots: add butter to pan (photo 1), melt (photo 2), add mushrooms and fry (photo 3), flip (photo 4), add garlic (photo 5), fry (photo 6).
Creamy Mushroom Tagliatelle
Once the mushrooms are golden, the next thing you’ll want to do is go in with some chicken stock. This will not only help create the sauce, but it also adds a mellow background flavour too. As you reduce the stock there will be a flavour exchange with the mushrooms which offers some depth of flavour to the dish.
Cream Cheese Mushroom Pasta
Okay, stick with me here. Yes, we’re using cream cheese for the sauce, and yes, it totally makes sense. The ‘cheese’ aspect actually mellows out a fair bit by the time everything has mixed together and the pasta has been tossed in. What you’re left with is a nice creamy, thick sauce which is so delicious. No simmering needed, which makes using cream cheese the perfect quick fix.
Starchy Pasta Water
The sauce will be fairly thick before you add the pasta. As such, you’ll want to toss in a splash of the water the pasta is cooked in. This will not only help thin out the sauce, but the excess starch will help bind the fats to create a smooth & glossy sauce. Process shots: simmer stock (photo 1), add cream cheese (photo 2), stir in thyme (photo 3), toss in pasta and parmesan (photo 4).
What kind of parmesan should I use?
I always recommend freshly grated parmesan for sauces. The packet stuff doesn’t melt particularly well!
Can I use a different pasta to tagliatelle?
Yep! Anything like fettuccine or linguine will work just the same. In general though I recommend a long-cut pasta, just to allow the thick creamy sauce to wrap itself around the pasta!
Can I use a different herb?
Thyme compliments mushrooms so beautifully and works really well in a creamy pasta. I have made this recipe with tarragon before which works nicely. It does have a much more unique flavour though so only sub tarragon if you know you like it. If you’re after a more subtle herb then use parsley.
Serving Mushroom Tagliatelle
Once you’ve tossed through the tagliatelle you’ll want to check for seasoning then serve it up right away! The sauce will thicken fairly quickly. For more mushroom pasta recipes check out my Creamy Mushroom Pasta, Tomato Mushroom Pasta and Chicken & Mushroom Pasta! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this mushroom tagliatelle recipe shall we?!
How to make Mushroom Tagliatelle (Full Recipe & Video)
