Mushroom and herb rigatoni pasta: A simple Italian pasta recipe

Cooking for yourself or your family doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. They understand this in Italy where sharing a meal with the ones you love is the best part of the day. Pasta celebrates food and what you have in the pantry with thousands of variations. Rigatoni pasta is a type of macaroni that catches that delicoius sauce for you. Our mushroom and herb rigatoni pasta is a classic hearty dish for everybody.

Mushroom and herb rigatoni pasta tips

You want to remove the gills from the under side of the large mushrooms because they can impact the texture. The sauce is made creamy with pasta water which has starch from the pasta to help thicken it into a silky consistency. You can also add a knob of butter to make it extra glossy as you finish it off. You can also add some chili flakes for some spice, but use enough black pepper and you might already be there.

If you’re vegan, vegetarian or just love a simple pasta without meat, try our mushroom and herb rigatoni pasta. A simple, hearty family meal.

Mushroom rigatoni pasta recipe

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Recipe by South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association Course: MainCuisine: GlobalDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 250 g 250 rigatoni pasta (or another similar short pasta)

• 4 large 4 portabello mushrooms 

• 250 g 250 portabellini mushrooms

• 2 tbsp 2 olive oil

• 2 tbsp 2 butter

• 1 large bunch 1 fresh thyme

• 4 4 garlic cloves, minced 

• 2 tbsp 2 soy sauce

• ½ cup ½ crème fraîche 

• Salt and pepper, to taste 

• 1 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

• Cook rigatoni in boiling salted water, until al dente. (Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and drain pasta)
• While the pasta is cooking, scrape out the black gills from the underside of the portabellos with a teaspoon. Cut each portabello in half and then cut each half into four chunky wedges.
• Slice portabellinis into quarters.
• Heat oil and butter in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
• Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
• Add mushrooms and thyme. 
• Cook mushrooms, tossing them often until just tender and golden brown.
• Pour in the soy sauce and cook until absorbed. 
• Turn the heat down. Stir in the crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and a splash of pasta water.
• Add cooked pasta and toss gently to coat in the mushroom sauce. 
• Keep adding pasta water as needed to achieve a silky, shiny sauce. 
• Serve pasta with squeeze of fresh lemon juice and extra freshly ground black pepper. 

Notes

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