Fat Noodles with Pan-Roasted Mushrooms and Crushed Herb Sauce

[From Carla’s Part II: The Recipes (Monday through Thursday)]

This method of cooking mushrooms—by pan-roasting them, then finishing with browned butter—is incredibly effective, whether you’re adding them to pasta or not. In the second step, the butter and aromatics wash a ton of flavor over the mushrooms, glossing them up.

From the Market (Ingredients) 
Mild chile flakes, Shallot, Tender herbs, Maitake mushrooms, Wide pasta noodles

Spin It
Instead of Aleppo pepper, use a smaller quantity of regular red pepper flakes or lots of black
Replace the shallot with ¼ onion
The herbs are truly interchangeable, in any ratio, and can include basil, chives, tarragon, and/or dill
Use shiitake, oyster, and/or cremini mushrooms instead of maitake
Big tubes like rigatoni or paccheri are good too

At Home (Ingredients) 
Salt and pepper, Garlic, Lemon, Olive oil, Parmigiano, Butter

Spin It
A few dashes of sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar can replace the lemon juice and zest Grana Padano or pecorino can replace the Parm

Fat Noodles with Pan-Roasted Mushrooms and Crushed Herb Sauce

Carla Lalli Music

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, use a large heavy skillet to cook the mushrooms and combine with the shallot and garlic. Scoop out 2 cups of pasta cooking liquid, then drain the pasta and return to the pot, and build your sauce from there. If the sauce gets tight or sticky, or the cheese clumps together, lower the heat and add more water than you think you should. Cook over low heat, stirring gently but constantly, until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth.

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Course Dinner

Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• Kosher salt; freshly ground pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, divided
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon mild chile flakes, such as Aleppo pepper
• 1 shallot
• 1 pound maitake mushrooms
• Chunk of Parmigiano, for grating and serving
• 2 cups lightly packed herbs (leaves and tender stems), such as parsley, mint, and/or arugula
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound wide pasta noodles, such as lasagnette or pappardelle

Instructions

 

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it very aggressively with salt (figure ¼ cup salt per 6 quarts water). Pick out the smallest garlic clove and finely grate it into a small bowl. Grate in the zest of the lemon, then stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil and the chile flakes. Season oil mixture with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Thinly slice the remaining 5 garlic cloves and the shallot. Trim the mushrooms; tear into bite-size pieces. Juice the zested lemon into a small bowl. Grate enough Parm to yield ¼ cup (save what’s left for passing at the table). Set all aside.
• Add the herbs to the boiling water and cook until very softened, 2 minutes. (Cooking the herbs both mellows and deepens their flavor; they will have less fresh brightness but take on a richer, more vegetal flavor.) Use a mesh spider or tongs to remove the herbs and hold them under cold running water until cool enough to handle, about 10 seconds. Squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. Thinly slice the herbs and stir them into the oil mixture. Taste and adjust with more salt and chile flakes, if desired. Set the herb sauce aside.

Notes

Reprinted from That Sounds So Good by Carla Lalli Music. Copyright © 2021 by Carla Lalli Music. Photographs copyright © 2021 by Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

Keyword Herbs, Mushrooms, Parmigiano, Pasta