Oyster Mushroom Pasta

With only 7 ingredients (well, 9 if you are counting salt and pepper) this recipe makes it extremely easy to add more mushrooms into your meal routine with such little effort it is almost criminal! This is one of those dishes that is way more than the sum of its parts: it comes together in about 30 minutes with no special ingredients except a half pound of Oyster Mushrooms (let us hook you up with some right here). It is surprisingly decadent, and nicely mushroom forward which in my book makes it the perfect easy and healthy-ish weeknight meal, but also elevated enough to make it worthy of a special night with dinner guests.

Ingredients

(2-3 servings)

6 oz spaghetti or linguine noodles

8 oz oyster mushrooms (Blue Oyster, King Blue Oyster, or Italian Oyster)

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

1/4 -1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

finely chopped parsley, for topping

To prepare dish:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

While the water is coming to a boil, prepare the mushrooms by chopping them into bite sized pieces. Melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the butter, and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat (make sure the skillet is large enough to add the pasta to later). Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until all their water has leeched out and they begin to brown nicely on the edges- about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper halfway through, then add the garlic and remaining 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter, cooking for about 2 minutes more until the mushrooms are golden brown all over and the garlic is starting to turn golden brown as well.

When the water has come to a boil, add the noodles and cook for 1 minute less than the package directions state. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before you drain the noodles, then add the pasta plus about 3/4 cup of the reserved liquid to the skillet with the mushroom-garlic mixture. Sprinkle in the Parmesean cheese starting with 1/4 cup and increasing the amount based on your preferences, tossing the mixture gently in the skillet until the water reduces and thickens to coat the pasta. Add more of the reserved pasta cooking liquid if the noodles seem to dry.

Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Plate noodles and top with more Parmesean and the chopped parsley. Enjoy!