Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 450 gm Mushrooms (chunks)
• 1 medium Onion (sliced)
• 3 cloves Garlic (chopped)
• 8 tbsp Fresh Parsley divided
• 1 tsp Lemon zest
• 1/2 Lemon juice
• 50 gm Parmesan cheese (divided)
• 30 ml Cream
• 300 gm Pasta (Spaghetti)

 

Crumble

• 50 gm Bacon / 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 100 gm Breadcrumbs
• 30 gm Walnuts
• 1 tsp dried Herbs

 

Optional

• Truffle

 

Instructions:

 To make the Crumble

1. If you are using the bacon then add the chopped bacon into a sauté pan on medium heat however if you are using olive oil add that into the pan at this stage. Once the bacon has rendered its fat or once the olive oil is warm add the walnuts into the pan and toast in the hot fat. Stir around, add the dried herbs and stir again. Add the breadcrumbs and let this get toasted into a gold brown color. Take off the heat and transfer to a plate to cool down.

To make the Pasta

1. In a large stock pot we boil around 8-9 cups of water. This amount will depend on the size of your pot. Ensure the water is double the amount of the pasta, hence 300gm pasta means we must have nothing less than 600ml water, I would use around 900ml just cause I like to save some of the liquid for later.
2. Once the water is boiling add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and add the pasta. Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packaging. Once the pasta is ready, save some of the cooking liquid for later and drain out the excess liquid. Set aside.

To make the Mushroom sauce

1. In a sauté pan on medium heat we add the chopped mushrooms and let that cook until it is a little colored, around 4 mins. Add the chopped garlic and we go in with the olive oil and butter. Let this cook and bubble up for a couple of mins before adding the sliced onions. Stir everything around. Add the thyme, parsley and season well.
2. Once it is all colored and cooked through, reduce the heat add the cream with half the parmesan cheese. Turn off the heat add and stir around. Check the seasoning by tasting at this stage.

Assemble

1. Pour the mushroom mixture over the pasta, add the lemon juice, remaining parmesan cheese and toss until combined. Add the reserved cooking liquid at this stage if needed or serve as it is.
2. Garnish the pasta with more cheese on top, a little lemon zest, chopped parsley and the crumble. Personalize it as per your likes based not the substitutes mentioned above.

NOTES

• Do not over cook the pasta as it will break up later while tossing with the sauce.
• We start cooking the mushrooms in a dry pan with no fat to release its own juices and caramelize on its own.
• To keep the dish vegetarian, swap the bacon in the crumble for olive oil.
• If you want more sauce add more cream or more of the cooking pasta liquid that you saved. Always add less liquid as you cannot take it out once you’ve added it into the pasta.
• The garnish is optional and it can be customized to your liking.

 

Enjoy!

Recipe created and shared by Annika @Annikapanikker, to check out more recipes you can visit her page or her Youtube channel for step by step instructions.