Monday, November 9, 2009

Mushroom pasta

After my bus decided to blow past me yesterday rather than stopping to pick me up, I decided to walk on a little further along the Embarcadero to the ferry building. I knew I had to come up with something for dinner, and what better place for culinary inspiration than there?
After impulse shopping with the hordes at Sur La Table (but I got one thing I actually needed, plus pirate cupcake papers and toppers), I ran right smack dab into one of my favorite shops in the whole wide world. Just like that, my decision was made - mushrooms it was. They had little mixed variety baskets for $5 so I picked up two.
But mushrooms and what? Steak or chicken? Pizza? Pasta?
Pasta!
Oh, but mushrooms and goat cheese are so good together. . . . okay, so I'll use some goat cheese too, why not?

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pasta
Whole wheat egg noodles (or other whole wheat pasta you have on hand - probably not spaghetti)
2 baskets of assorted wild mushies (I'm guessing it was about a pound, but we could've happily eaten twice this amount)
chive goat cheese (make your own by mixing fresh chives in with softened goat cheese, or make life easy)
1 large chicken breast
seasonings of your choice for chicken - I typically use a combo of poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic and onion powders
4 tbsp I can't believe it's not butter (ICBINB)
1 large shallot, minced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
salt
lemon juice
black truffle oil

Clean and cut up the mushrooms. Place on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil and salt, and roast at 450 or 500 degrees until mushrooms are soft and browned - I have no idea how long this took because I am bad at this part. Stir once part way through.
Season and cook chicken in a pan over medium-high. You might want to butterfly the chicken to speed up cooking time.
In one tbsp of ICBINB, cook the shallots and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragarant - 4-5 minutes.
Once the mushrooms are done, add them to the shallots and garlic and add 1-2 more tbsp ICBINB as needed/desired.
Chop up chicken into bite sized pieces and add to mushroom mixture.

Drain pasta of most of the water, leaving a tablespoon or so behind. Add 1 tbsp ICBINB and leave on heat to melt down - 1-2 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture and stir to combine.
Stir in 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice.

Dish up pasta, sprinkle with chunks of goat cheese, and drizzle lightly with the truffle oil.
NOM.

1 comment:

Quinn said...

I already ate the leftovers. So good! Garlic flavors definitely developed overnight. Apologies to everyone I talk to today.