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Mushroom & Sweet Corn Pasta
It’s my (vegetarian!) mama’s birthday this week, so I took a few of her favorite things — meaty mushrooms (morel! maitake!), cilantro, chives, and sweet summer corn and turned them into a lusciously creamy pasta perfect for summer entertaining and showing anyone just how much you love them!
@LisaOz taught me how to be adventurous and happily intuitive in the kitchen, how to feed a crowd, and most of all, how to capture the sense of fun and celebration in every meal — and hopefully this deliciously umami-boosted tribute dish helps you do all of the above!
Mushroom & Sweet Corn Pasta
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
4 to 6 ounces fresh morel mushrooms, halved lengthwise if small and quartered lengthwise if large, or 1-ounce dried morel mushrooms (follow rehydrating instructions)
12 ounces maitake mushrooms (hen of the woods) or oyster mushrooms, broken into 1-inch pieces
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1-pound fresh or dried pappardelle
1/2 cup chives, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus additional to garnish
½ cup sour cream or crème fraiche
2 ears fresh corn, shucked and kernels cut off the cob
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
If Using Fresh Morel Mushrooms:
•To wash Morel Mushrooms: Normally with mushrooms you want to gently brush the dirt off using a dry pastry brush or a damp clean towel. Because morels have lots of nooks and crannies and can trap a lot more dirt, you want to gently and quickly place them into cold water with a hearty pinch of salt, gently shake to agitate the dirt out them remove and immediately dry on a towel, discarding the water. Repeat this if they are very dirty. Allow to sit out and dry if you have the time or gently press with a clean towel to dry well so they can still brown nicely in the pan.
For the Pasta:
•Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, be sure to salt heavily here, we want it like the sea!
•Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan add 6 tablespoons butter and allow to melt over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and allow to cook for 5 to 7 minutes without moving frequently to allow the mushrooms to turn golden brown. Season with salt. Remove to a plate using a slotted spoon and return the pan to the heat.
•Add the shallots and garlic and allow to cook until softened and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt.
•Meanwhile, if your pasta water has come to a boil, add the pasta. If you are using fresh pasta, cook until the pasta begins to float, this means it’s al dente, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. If you are using dried pasta, cook 2 minutes less than the package instructions. One of the most important things here is before draining the pasta, reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta liquid that will help you make the sauce. Drain the pasta and do not rinse! Once pasta has drained, add immediately to the sauté pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms back in along with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Dribble in small amounts of the pasta water to toss and coat the pasta in the mushroom butter. Once you have tossed a couple of times, remove the pan from the heat.
•Off the heat you will finish the sauce. Add the sour cream, ½ cup grated cheese and toss to combine. Add dribbles of pasta water to bind everything together and make it nice and creamy (I used ½ cup pasta water in total for the whole recipe). It’s so so important to finish the sauce off the heat, when adding dairy to a hot pasta or sauce it tends to break over direct heat. By adding it just in the hot pan you are providing a safety net for creating a smooth, creamy sauce that isn’t broken. Add half of the herbs and the corn and toss everything again to combine. Season with salt and heavily with freshly ground black pepper.
•Serve in shallow bowls with additional cheese and herbs on top.
If Using Dried Morel Mushrooms:
•To Rehydrate Dried Mushrooms: If you are using dried morel mushrooms, follow this version of the recipe. Dried morels are available all year round and are also a more reasonable price point for a weeknight or weekend meal.
•Place the mushrooms in a heat safe bowl, pour 1 to 2 cups of hot water over the mushrooms to cover. Allow to sit out at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes until they have soaked up the liquid and look full again.
•Remove from the liquid to a towel and gently press to help them dry out, it’s best if you can let them dry out for a couple of hours but if you don’t have time, just gently dry as best as you can with towels.
•Cut the morels in half lengthwise if small and quarter if large. Reserve ½ cup of the mushroom soaking liquid (“tea” as I like to call it) for the recipe.
For the Pasta:
•Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, be sure to salt heavily here, we want it like the sea!
•Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan add 6 tablespoons butter and allow to melt over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and allow to cook for 5 to 7 minutes without moving frequently to allow the mushrooms to turn golden brown. Season with salt. Remove to a plate using a slotted spoon and return the pan to the heat.
•Add the shallots and garlic and allow to cook until softened and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt. Add the mushroom tea liquid and allow to reduce by half, another 3 to 4 minutes. We are reducing the mushroom liquid here to add an intensified mushroom flavor to the sauce from the dried mushrooms, it’s delicious and really enhances a dish when using dried mushroom varieties.
•Meanwhile, if your pasta water has come to a boil add the pasta. If you are using fresh pasta, cook until the pasta begins to float, this means it’s al dente, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. If you are using dried pasta, cook 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
•One of the most important things here before draining the pasta is to reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta liquid, this will help you make the sauce. The starchy pasta liquid acts as a binding agent for all the delicious bits in the pan to gloss the pasta. Drain the pasta and do not rinse! Once pasta has drained, add immediately to the sauté pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms back in along with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Dribble in small amounts of the pasta water (about ¼ cup) to toss and coat the pasta in the mushroom butter. Once you have tossed a couple of times, remove the pan from the heat.
•Off the heat you will finish the sauce. Add the sour cream, ½ cup grated cheese and toss to combine. Add additional dribbles of pasta water to bind everything together and make it nice and creamy (I used ½ cup pasta water total). It’s so so important to finish the sauce off the heat, when adding dairy like cheese or creamy to a hot pasta or sauce it tends to break over direct heat. By adding it just in the hot pan you are providing a safety net for creating a smooth, creamy sauce that isn’t broken. Add half of the herbs and the corn and toss everything again to combine. Season with salt and heavily with freshly ground black pepper.
•Serve in shallow bowls with additional cheese and herbs on top.
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