Who doesn’t love a big bowl of creamy pasta? I live for pasta. It is my favorite food, meal, cuisine. I love going out to eat Italian food. My favorite place I’ve ever visited was to Italy because I ate pasta every day, twice a day. I could talk for hours about pasta.

Pasta is the ultimate comfort food. It is warm and filling and tastes so good. You can add anything to it and call it a meal — vegetables, sauce, nuts, meat. I love how versatile it is. When my fridge is empty, and I feel as though there is no food in the house, I can always count on whipping up a meal with some dry pasta noodles. Heck, noodles, butter, and cheese, the easiest and tastiest meal!

I am also a big fan of mushrooms, which I am sure I’ve talked about in lengths previously on this blog. I love mushrooms so much that in the past, I’ve taken many attempts at wild mushroom foraging, but it turns out that my anxieties far outway my desire for wild mushrooms. The risks of accidentally foraging a poisonous mushroom are far too great for my mental state. So, I leave it to the professionals, and I buy my wild mushrooms from the local Whole Foods.

Which leads me to this creamy mushroom and rosemary stroganoff. I mean, mushrooms, cream, butter, rosemary, cheese, and pasta, what else could you ask for? A nice glass of wine to pair with? Yes, you could also ask for that. This is a perfect weeknight meal that takes no time to prepare. It’s hearty and delicious and sure to please everyone. Except maybe those who don’t like mushrooms, but can we really trust those people anyways ;)

Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

serves 4

• prep time - 10 minutes

• cooking time - 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 servings of dry tagliatelle pasta (roughly 2 - 3 oz of dry pasta per person)

• 2 tbsp of butter

• 1/4 onion, diced

• 1 tsp of fresh rosemary, chopped

• 1 lb of mushrooms, chopped

• 1 cup of cream, half and half or heavy

• 1/2 cup of pasta water

• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2. In a large frying pan, heat the butter on medium until sizzling.

3. Add the diced onion and chopped rosemary fry until the onions are soft and translucent.

4. Add the chopped mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mushrooms are tender.

5. Add the dry pasta to the water and cook until el dente. Reserve the cooking water for the sauce.

6. Once the mushrooms are tender, add the cream and 1/2 cup of pasta water. Simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly, roughly 4-5 minutes.

7. Add the Parmesan cheese and the cooked pasta noodles. Toss. Taste and season with salt and pepper. You can add more pasta water to achieve the desired texture for your sauce.

8. Serve warm with extra Parmesan cheese.