pat's Recipe

Mushroom Pasta with Ricotta

Category: PASTA

This simple pasta highlights the great taste of affordable button mushrooms. For even more flavor, experiment with dried porcini mushrooms.

coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces rigatoni or other short pasta
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 pound white button or cremini mushrooms,
trimmed and sliced OR 1/2 ounce dried
porcini mushrooms
1 cup ricotta
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
shaved Parmesan, for serving

1)In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup pasta water; drain and return to pot.
2)Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add wine and cook until almost evaporated; 4 to 6 minutes. Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp butter.
3)Add mushroom mixture, ricotta, and lemon juice to pasta; stir to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce. Serve topped with Parmesan.

FLAVOR UPGRADE
Bump up the mushroom flavor: soak 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms in 1/2 cup hot water 20 minutes. Remove porcini and strain liquid. Cook porcini in step 2 with white button mushrooms. Add porcini liquid in step 3 to pasta instead of water.

serves 4