My husband and I talked on the phone and texted for several weeks before we met in person. When we met we planned to go to church together and grab some lunch. He awkwardly hung around all day until I felt obligated to invite him to stay for dinner. More than three years later I still haven’t gotten rid of him, so use caution when serving this recipe.
A lot of vegetarian pasta dishes are nothing but empty carbs, but the portabella mushrooms make this dish hearty and filling, and the asparagus lightens the taste palette. While the sauce is cheese based, its not heavy and sticky like some pastas. This is an easy, but foodie-friendly dish.
I used organic farfalle pasta, but you can use whatever shape suits your fancy. Shells are popular in similar dishes. When you sauté your ‘shrooms make sure that you are generous with the salt. While you will get plenty of saltiness from the vegetable stock and cheese, nothing is grosser than un-seasoned mushrooms. I am convinced that people who don’t like mushrooms have just been served un-seasoned ones.
Normally I like to use Alouette cheese for this dish, but my grocery store didn’t have it this week. I chose a soft white cheddar with garlic and herbs instead. It was ok, but a little too sticky/stringy/cheesy. I would opt for a softer cheese like feta to boursin next time.
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 portabella mushroom caps, chopped
- salt to taste
- 1 1/2 C vegetable stock
- 5 oz soft cheese
- 12 oz pasta
- 1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed
- Add olive oil and mushrooms to pan and sauté until cooked. Salt generously to taste. When mushrooms are cooked add vegetable stock, and cheese and stir until thickened into a sauce.
- In the meantime bring a stock pan of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add asparagus to pasta and cook for 5 more minutes. Drain, then toss with mushroom sauce.
- Serve hot.
My favorite part about this dish is that every single member of my family loves it. The meat eaters, the picky littles – we can all eat the same meal! Give it a try for your next meatless meal.
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