Weeknight
Mushroom Alfredo penne (the Primi Piatti memory)
The dish that made me fall in love with Italian food — creamy, garlicky, packed with mushrooms and a snowstorm of parmigiano. Based on the classic Allrecipes fettuccine Alfredo, built up with mushrooms and garlic and swapped onto penne.
Do not skimp on the parmigiano. And use more garlic than you think — calling all vampires.
Method
- 01
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil and cook the penne to just shy of al dente. Reserve a mugful of pasta water before draining.
- 02
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and half the butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and sauté hard for 6–8 minutes until deeply golden and any liquid has cooked off. Season and tip onto a plate.
- 03
Lower the heat to medium. Add the remaining butter and the garlic and cook gently for 60 seconds — do not let it colour, or it will turn bitter.
- 04
Pour in the cream and simmer for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened. Off the heat, beat in the parmigiano, a scraping of nutmeg and plenty of black pepper.
- 05
Return the mushrooms to the pan with the drained penne. Toss over low heat, loosening with pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce clings to every piece.
- 06
Shower with more parmigiano and the parsley. Serve immediately — Alfredo waits for no one.
Keep cooking
