“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again.”
George Miller
PENNE IN A CREAM MUSHROOM SAUCE
Here’s my entry for Presto Pasta Nights hosted by a great blog ‘Once Upon a Feast’ which I enjoy reading tremendously. You will find some great meal ideas here.
A versatile, simple recipe. I like to make this with penne because the sauce holds on better, though find it works well with even spaghetti. I have got great reviews on this, and always get a recipe request whenever I serve it. This is the vegetarian version. For a non-vegetarian version, toss in grilled/ chopped chicken when the pasta is mixed in with the sauce.
Ingredients:
Olive oil – 2 tsp
Garlic – 4-6 cloves / chopped
Onion – 1 / chopped
Button Mushrooms – 200gms / sliced
Red Chilly flakes – 1/4 tsp
Oregano – 1 tsp
Green chilly – 1 / chopped ( optional; however, it brings out a nice flavour)
Milk – 1/2 cup / cold
Cornflour – 1 tsp (dissolved in the milk)
Light Cream/Half n half – 100ml
Gouda Cheese – 2tbs/grated ( any cheddar does as well too)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
-
Heat the oil in a pan with the onion and garlic put in. Simmer for a while till the flavours get released.
- Add the mushrooms, chilly flakes, oregano and green chilly. Sauté till the mushrooms release their liquid.
- Add in the cold milk, stirring continuously to avoid forming lumps. Once thickened, put on low heat.
-
Add the cream and grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper.Simmer till the cheese melts through. Once warm, blend the sauce to get required consistency. Don’t blend it too much. The sauce tastes better with a slightly chunkier,fullish consistency. Set aside.
Penne – 250gms (can use any short pasta; or even spaghetti)
- Cook pasta on in plenty of salted,boiling water till al dente.
- Drain and mix into the sauce. Serve immediately as the pasta continues to absorb the sauce the longer it sits.
Note: Leftovers can be reheated and served later, though most of the sauce would have been absorbed. Still tastes as nice though the sauce isn’t visible.
Serve with sauted vegetables, salad and garlic bread. 
What a mouth-watering dish…all my favorite things with AND without the chicken! Thanks so much for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights. I hope to see many more of your perfect pastas.
hi deeba. ill be trying out this recipe on saturday and wanted to know whether i can use amul tetrapack cream ?
also when u mentioned to blend the sauce..did u mean to blend it in the mixy??
Your recipe just inspired me to create something a bit different – we’ll see how it comes out.
Just one comment on the serving suggestion though: it is a very American, and a very strange thing to the rest of the world, to serve pasta with bread and a side dish (in this case, steamed veggies). First, starch and starch just don’t mix well in general, the bread is killing the flavour of the pasta. All the veggies on top will kind of fight with the creamy mushroomy taste, instead of bringing it out. Second, while pasta is easy to digest, bread is not – it is very filling indeed. Try it without, and let me know what you think.
Hi Deeba, I tried this reciepe yesterday night with a slight variation and it turned out quite well. I added onions, grilled chicken, capsicum and carrots after stir frying them for some time into the sauce and then poured it over the pasta. Thanks a lot for the yummy recipe.