Pasta in Mushroom Cream Sauce

Mushrooms are one of my favorite ingredients. The word 'mushroom' refers to the fleshy, fruiting body of many varieties of fungi. Personally, I have never met a fleshy, fruiting fungus body I didn't like.

I first fell in love with mushrooms during the many years when I was a vegetarian. The savory qualities of mushrooms give them an almost meaty flavor, and make them an ideal substitute for animal flesh in a dish.

Mushroom cream sauce is a dish that the Italians have perfected using the highly prized porcini. One day I hope to master this dish, but for now, I am using the humble white button mushroom. Fancy mushroom species aside, this pasta and sauce combo is still delish and definitely worth a try.

1 box pasta
20 large white mushrooms (sliced)
1 onion (chopped)
2 large cloves garlic (minced)
1 1/3 cups cream
1/2 cup chicken stock (or water with bouillon)
Olive oil
Salt
Parsley
Milk (as needed)



Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add sliced mushrooms, some salt, and parsley and saute over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft. The mushrooms will release a lot of juices so there should be a nice pool of brown fluids in the pan. (At this point I'm pretty sure an Italian chef would add some white wine to the mix, let the alcohol cook off for a bit and then proceed as follows, but I am a little too poor to cook with wine at the moment, and I think this dish is fine without it). Add the cream and let everything simmer together. Add the chicken stock (or water with bouillon) and again let everything simmer. Add salt and parsley to taste. If the sauce becomes too thick, add some milk (or water) to thin it out, but then be sure to adjust the salt and chicken stock amounts to maintain a good flavor balance.

Prepare the pasta al dente and toss it with the sauce. Top with freshly ground black pepper and grated parmigiana or grana.

Buon appetito!