Mushroom Brandy Pasta

Serves: —

main vegetarian italian pasta

Ingredients

  • 500 g spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, etc.
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 750 g champignons mushrooms, 6 mm thick slices
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 oz tomato paste
  • 300 ml heavy cream
  • 250 ml Brandy
  • 45 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
  • 2 cups reserved pasta water will most likely not need it all
  • Italian parsley, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water (2 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon) to a boil.
  2. Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil and mushrooms. Sear mushrooms until they release their water and brown (about 3-5 minutes per side). Once browned, season with a bit of salt and pepper and remove mushrooms to a plate, tent with foil.
  3. Turn the heat to medium-low and add in the onion. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until translucent and soft. If the pan is dry, add 1-2 tablespoons more olive oil. After the onions are soft, add the tomato paste to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. At this point, begin boiling the spaghetti to 1 minute less than al dente.
  5. Add the Brandy to the pan and turn the heat to high. With a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Once the alcohol smell has gone away and the liquid has reduced by about half (about 2 minutes), turn the heat down to medium and add 1 cup of pasta water.
  6. Cook for 2 more minutes then add the cream. Bring to a simmer to allow the sauce to thicken. Taste test and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Add the mushrooms to the sauce along with the pasta. Cook until the pasta is just al dente, then turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stovetop.
  8. Add the cheese along with the parsley and mix together well. If the sauce is too dry, add more of the reserved pasta water, a bit at a time, to get the consistency just right. Enjoy!

Notes

Use any fresh mushrooms you like. Baby Bella (cremini) mushrooms offer the best value to flavor ratio. They are often only a little bit more expensive than white button mushrooms.

Always save your pasta water! Use the reserved pasta water (a couple of ounces at a time) to thin if the pasta is too dry.

Almost any substantial pasta works well for this recipe. Linguine, fettuccine, rigatoni, penne are all great.

Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave.