More or less by accident, this became the recipe that came to define my winter. Now that winter is over (go figure), and now that I have perfected my recipe (more or less), I thought I would share it on the blog.
The recipe originates from two places:
1. My love for mushrooms
2. My curiosity around truffle oil
Let's talk about mushrooms. I hated them when I was growing up, in the sense that I never tried them but decided from an early age that I thought they were gross and I would never eat them (this was the case for all vegetables except baby carrots and cucumber). Today, mushrooms are maybe my favorite vegetable (I don't know how or when this changed). I love how many varieties there are, and I have a particular affinity for wild mushrooms (oyster, shiitake, maitake, chanterelle, etc.). Every once in awhile I realize that I can more readily rattle off names of wild mushrooms than I can rattle off names of U.S. presidents, and this just makes a lot of sense to me.
As for truffle oil, I have always wanted to buy some. It was the kind of thing that always sat in my Amazon cart, but which I never bought because I couldn't quite justify the purchase. In my experience, here is how those things play out: one day, you walk into a store and see said thing in person, and think to yourself, "well $25 for a tiny bottle of fancy oil that is absolutely not fundamental to my pantry isn't so bad." So I bought some.
That same afternoon, shortly after I picked up the tiny bottle of $25 truffle oil, I also picked up: fresh oregano and thyme, garlic, shallots, and broccolini. I remembered that there was spaghetti in my pantry, and the whole thing came together from there. The specificity of this recipe was kind of born by accident - in the sense that I don't believe I had ever cooked broccolini before, but I did that night, and now it is one of my favorite vegetables and the only one I have ever paired with this pasta. I am not saying that you have to pair your truffle mushroom pasta with broccolini, but I am saying that you should - it is very good.
Anyway, that's enough of the slightly-tangential-but-mostly-unrelated ramble that begins most recipe posts on food blogs. Let's get into how to make this dish.
Truffle mushroom spaghetti with roasted broccolini
Ingredients
- 1 package pasta of your choice (I tend to go for spaghetti for this, but it's really up to you)
- 1 lb broccolini (I made up the portion here, I just buy one "package" from my local supermarkets; also this is sometimes called broccolette I just learned?)
- 1-2 lbs mushrooms, sliced (use what you like, what you have, or what you can afford; like I said above, I love wild mushrooms, but they're usually more expensive - cremini and portobello work just as well!)
- 1-2 shallots, diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or 3-4 if you are me, aka do you)
- 1-2 tbsp fresh herbs (again, your choice - I like oregano and thyme; I have also substituted the fresh herbs for dried herbs de Provence, maybe 1-2 tsp)
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1-2 tsp truffle oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- chili flakes to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Add the pasta to the boiling water, along with a pinch of salt, and cook according to package instructions.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, and add broccolini. Drizzle about 1 tbsp olive oil on top, along with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix evenly with your hands, and then place in the oven to roast for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until the florets are slightly crisp and golden.
- Heat a pan on medium-low. When warm, add 1 tbsp of oil, followed by diced shallots. Cook until the shallots are transparent, then add minced garlic. Cook for one minute more, or until fragrant, careful not to burn the garlic. Next, add your chopped fresh herbs, and stir (or dried herbs de Provence).
- Add the mushrooms to the pan, tossing in the oil/shallot/garlic/herb mixture to coat. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and cook until the mushrooms have released their moisture and are soft. Once this happens, turn the heat up even more, and let cook without turning. This allows the mushroom to develop some color and maybe even some crisp - if you're into that (I am). Remove from heat.
- As soon as your pasta is drained, quickly add a drizzle of olive oil (about 1 tbsp) to prevent sticking. Stir in the sautéed mushroom mix. Your kitchen should be smelling pretty good at this point.
- Drizzle in the truffle oil. Your kitchen will definitely be smelling very good at this point.
- Plate the pasta with as many mushrooms as you desire, and serve alongside roasted broccolini. Garnish the pasta with fresh cracked black pepper, chili flakes, and chopped fresh herbs.
- Optional: I also like to serve this with a simple mixed green salad, as pictured - that is really just mixed greens tossed with a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- Optional: When I am not so lazy, I top the pasta with a little bit of cashew parm - that is really just cashews, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and salt blended together until it resembles parm (kind of).
Enjoy! This probably serves 4 people.
