Three Cheese Baked Mushroom Pasta

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 8 oz Baby bella mushrooms
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 1 Onion, small
  • 1 tbsp Parsley, fresh
  • 4 oz Shitake mushrooms
  • 2 tsp Thyme, fresh

• Pasta & Grains

  • 1 box De cecco cavatappi pasta

• Baking & Spices

  • 1/3 cup All-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper, freshly-cracked
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

• Dairy

  • 1 tbsp Butter, unsalted
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 1/3 cup Fontina cheese
  • 2 1/4 cup Milk
  • 1/3 cup Mozzarella, smoked
  • 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

• Liquids

  • 8 cups Water

Found on cookinginstilettos.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 box of De Cecco Cavatappi Pasta
• 8 - 10 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 8 ounces of sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 4 ounces of sliced shitake mushrooms
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme, minced
• 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 cup of milk
• 1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/3 cup of shredded fontina cheese
• 1/3 cup of shredded smoked mozzarella
• 3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Bring the water to a boil over medium high heat. Add the salt.
• Add the De Cecco Cavatappi Pasta to the salted water, stirring for a second to prevent sticking.
• Cook for 6 minutes – you want it a little underdone as it will continue to cook in the oven.
• Drain the pasta and set aside. Reserve a cup of the starchy pasta water for the sauce if needed.
• In a nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced baby bella mushrooms and shitake mushrooms in batches so as to not crowd the pan too much. My suggestion – brown some of the baby bella mushrooms first and then add more. They will reduce in size – trust me on this.
• Add the diced onions to the browned mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes or so until they are translucent.
• Add the minced garlic, thyme and fresh parsley. Sauté for a minute more and then set aside.
• To a nonstick saucepan, add the butter to the pan and melt over medium heat.
• Add the flour to the butter mixture and, using a whisk, combine the butter and flour. It’s going to look lumpy at first but you’ll whisk that out in a minute. You want to cook the flour for a minute or two first.
• Slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you go so that the lumps will be worked out in the sauce. You want a smooth and silky sauce.
• Combine 1/4 cup of the shredded fontina cheese, 1/4 cup of the shredded smoked mozzarella and 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese. Set the remainder aside for later.
• Whisk the nutmeg, salt and pepper into the sauce, followed by cheese.
• Whisk vigorously until the cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce.
• If the sauce appears too thick, whisk in the reserved pasta water, about a 1/4 cup at a time.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl, tumble in the drained pasta, herbed mushroom mixture and then pour the sauce over the mixture.
• Using a spatula, combine the pasta with the sauce and mushrooms until everything is distributed throughout.
• Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking pan.
• Top the pasta with the remaining cheese mixture and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so until the cheese is bubbling and brown.
• Serve while hot and enjoy!