Creamy Mushroom Pasta Sauce with Crème Fraîche
A 25-minute mushroom sauce with chunky browned mushrooms, shallots, thyme and creme fraiche. Toss with linguine, fettuccine, or spaghetti or short cuts like rigatoni or penne.
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds white button or cremini mushrooms or a mixture of both
- Kosher salt
- ½ pound dried pasta
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup finely chopped shallot
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
- ⅓ cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the mushrooms: Trim the stems off 1½ pounds white button or cremini mushroomss. Tear the caps into generous bite-sized pieces - you want a rustic, chunky texture.
- Bring a large (5-6 quarts) water to a boil along with 4 tablespoons kosher salt (or use 1 ½ tablespoons regular table salt). Cook ½ pound dried pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop out 1 cup of the cooking water and reserve.
- While the pasta cooks, heat 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and spread them out in one layer. Cook 5 minutes without stirring. Give the pan a shake and stir the mushrooms around. Cook another 5 minutes.
- At this point, the mushrooms should be taking on some color and releasing some liquid. Add 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ cup finely chopped shallot, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme and ¼ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes and stir well. Cook until the shallots are softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add ⅓ cup creme fraiche or heavy cream and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley to the mushrooms. Gently simmer until the sauce thickens. Add ⅓ cup of the reserved water and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and stir, scraping the pan to release any browned bits.
- Put the cooked pasta in the pan and use tongs to toss in the sauce. Add a bit more pasta water if the sauce seems dry. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
- Heavy cream instead of creme fraiche: The sauce will be richer, but less tangy. Also, heavy cream can break when acid hits it at high temperature — stir in the lemon juice off the heat.
- Make it vegan: Replace crème fraîche with full-fat oat cream or cashew cream (not oat milk — it's too thin and will break). Omit the Parmesan or substitute a non-dairy version.
- Variations: Toss in a few large handfuls of spinach leaves after the mushrooms are done and let them wilt before adding the cream. Bacon or pancetta: cook separately until crisp, and use the rendered fat in place of some of the olive oil. Add it back to finish the dish with the pasta.
Nutrition
Calories: 295kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 12gFat: 16gSodium: 135mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6g
