Portobello mushrooms were on special at the market this week, which inspired this budget-friendly and satisfying pasta for a meatless main course.  Serve with a hearty green salad for a quick and delicious week night dinner.

Penne with Portobello Mushrooms

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 12 ounces fresh (small) Portobello mushrooms
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cup dry white wine (or combination of wine and chicken stock)

12 ounces penne

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Wipe mushrooms with a dry paper towel to clean them. Don’t wash them! Trim off the bottom of the stem along with any bad parts, and slice the mushroom with the caps 1/4-inch thick (bite-sized pieces). Set aside.
2. In a small stockpot or medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the chopped onions; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes, add garlic and stir for one minute.  Add the mushrooms and thyme sprigs, salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add wine and broth if using, bring to a boil, reduce the heat medium, simmer until liquids are reduced by half and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook, pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Place pasta in a serving bowl and top with mushroom mixture. Add ½ of the grated Parmesan cheese. Toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with using, remaining Parmesan cheese as a garnish.

  Note from the cook: I used whole wheat penne pasta and served the mushroom mixture on top of the pasta. Per my usual preference, I cooked with Evolution Wine from Sokol Blosser (a nod to my former home in Oregon).

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Enjoyed this post? See these:

1. Thrifty Thursday: Spaghetti Sauce (Semi-homemade)
2. Thrifty Thursday – Barley Soup Recipe
3. Thrifty Thursday Fresh Stuffed Pepper Recipe

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Tags: Evolution wine, mama says no more frozen pizza, pasta, portobello mushrooms

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 7:03 am and is filed under Recipes, Thrifty Thursday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.