This pasta is extraordinary! The portobellos are slow cooked with garlic and thyme, then added to porcini mushrooms, tomatoes, wine, fresh Parmesan and a sprinkling of parsley. All tossed with penne noodles, the flavor is intense and meaty and earthy! Insanely delicious!
Ingredients
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
8 oz of portobello mushrooms
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tsp of fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp of kosher salt
½ tsp fresh black pepper
½ cup of dried porcini mushrooms,
3 cups of whole cherry tomatoes or chopped romas
¼ cup of dry red wine
⅓ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
1 -2 Tbs of butter
¼ cup of fresh parsley, chopped
10 - 12 oz of penne pasta
Instructions
Start by soaking the porcinis in very hot water for about 20 - 30 minutes, drain, reserving the water and chop, then clean the portobellos by brushing off the dirt with a brush or if really dirty, rinse quickly and pat dry. Slice them into thick slices, then cut the longer slices in half, chop stems if you have them.
Then heat a large heavy skillet, add the oil, chopped portobellos, garlic cloves, fresh thyme and salt & pepper.
Cook over medum/low heat, stirring occasionally for about 25 - 30 minutes, if you need a little liquid at the end, add a little porcini water. The shrooms will be shrunken, but still fairly firm. Remove the garlic from the skillet and mince it.
Start a large pot of salted water boiling for the pasta. Add penne and cook al dente, drizzle with a little olive oil and keep warm.
Now, turn the heat to medium under the skillet, add the garlic to the portobellos along with the drained porcinis, cook and stir for a few minutes, then add in the tomatoes, cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. Add in the wine and simmer another 5 - 6 minutues, if you need more liquid, add in a little more porcini water. Taste and add salt if needed.
To finish, add the cooked pasta to the sauce, a little at a time until you have the right ratio of sauce to noodles, then stir in the Parmesan, butter and parsley.
Serve with a little more Parmesan on top.Enjoy!
Recipe by Cabin In The Woods at https://cabininthewoodsblog.com/portobello-penne/