My mom's mushroom pasta

My mom may not be the most authentic Italian chef. Her Italian cooking is a combination of recipes seen on the Food Network with her own Indian twist. Seems a little weird, maybe even awful, but her mushroom pasta kicks butt. It's spicy, warming and damn good.



I start out with heating olive oil and garlic. I then add sliced mushrooms. I prefer to cut them myself. I find the pre-cut ones to be too thick, however they are quite convenient. The picture above used pre-cut ones. The mushrooms need plenty of room to toast and brown up. Crowding them into a small pan allows them to steam, which is just not quite the same. I then add a handful of dried and fresh herbs and a healthy sprinkling of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. Once the mushrooms are done, add in the cooked pasta and a small amount of the cooking water. The cooking water helps coat the pasta with the herbs and pepper. I prefer this method to adding excess oil. Toss together with some salt and fresh pepper then grab yourself a bowl and a fork. A variation: add in a small can of tomatoes, or a few chopped fresh tomatoes, once the mushrooms are done. Add in the pasta and a little cooking water about a minute before the pasta is al dente and let it finish in the sauce. You can also experiment with making this into a cream sauce by simply adding some heavy cream after the mushrooms are done.

A note on mushrooms: We have always used white mushrooms however, I guarantee that this recipe would be just as fabulous with oyster, portabella or cremini. If you try any of these variations (tomatoes, cream, or different mushrooms), post a comment and let me know how it turns out.