Mushroom Alfredo

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This mushroom alfredo is made with fettuccine or tagliatelle tossed in a butter, cheese and cream sauce. Toss the pasta with sautéed mushrooms for a decadent dinner!

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: people

Calories: 584kcal

Author: Sarah Trenalone

Ingredients

Sautéed Mushrooms:

1 quart mushrooms Use mixed mushrooms or favorite variety
2 tablespoons unsalted butter If using salted butter, omit the sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, diced
⅛ teaspoon sea salt

Alfredo Pasta:

½ pound fettuccine or tagliatelle Use gluten-free pasta if needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter If using salted butter, omit the sea salt
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
2 garlic cloves, diced
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup freshly + finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to serve if desired See "Parmesan Cheese Tips" in the recipe notes.
freshly grated black pepper, to taste About 1 pinch for pre-grated pepper
diced chives, optional

Instructions

Cook Pasta:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, add the pasta. Gently stir the pasta occasionally to prevent it from sticking together.
Boil until al dente (about 1 minute less than the package directions call for).
Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, and remove pasta from the heat.

Cook the Mushrooms:

Prepare mushrooms by tearing into small pieces. (Alternatively, slice them.) If your mushrooms have a tough stem, discard and compost the stem.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter and oil. The butter will begin to foam as it melts. When it stops foaming, add the mushrooms in a single layer.
Don't crowd the mushrooms or they will steam instead of browning. If you have too many mushrooms to fit in a single layer, work in batches.
Toss the mushrooms frequently to make sure they cook evenly.
When the mushrooms are lightly toasted, add the garlic. Toss and cook for about another minute, until the garlic is fragrant.
Salt to taste and set aside.

Make the Alfredo Sauce:

In a large, deep fry pan or a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the salt.
When the butter is melted (but not browned) add the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic sizzles.
Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering about 3 minutes, or until the butter has completely incorporated into the cream. There should be no "oily" butter spots left, and the cream will be a pale yellow color.
Turn off the heat and whisk in the Parmesan. Continue whisking until the cheese melts into the sauce.
Tip: The butter and cream sauce must be piping hot when the cheese is added, otherwise the cheese will not melt. If you paused your cooking for any reason in between adding the cream and butter, reheat the cream before proceeding.
Add the pasta and ¼ cup of reserved pasta water to cheese sauce and toss to incorporate. (Tongs work well for tossing fettuccine.)
At first, it will seem like there is too much sauce. As you continue to toss the pasta, the sauce will begin to cling to the noodles. When there is no sauce (or almost no sauce) pooled on the bottom of the noodles, you're done tossing.
If the sauce seems dry or stringy, add another splash of the reserved pasta water. (I usually add at least one splash of pasta water, sometimes two, when cooking this meal.)
Tip: If you forgot to reserve pasta water, add a splash of cream, milk or white wine to the sauce instead (not tap water).
Add the mushrooms to the pasta. Toss the pasta. Add black pepper to taste.
Serve immediately, making sure to evenly distribute the mushrooms when serving. If desired, add chives and extra grated Parmesan after plating.

Notes

Serves 4 modestly or 2 generously. For 4 hungry eaters, serve along with other side dishes.

Parmesan Cheese Tips:

I highly recommend using a micro-plane grater (or zester) and a wedge of Parmesan (not pre-grated cheese) for this recipe. The more finely the cheese is grated, the easier it will dissolve into the sauce.
Pre-grated Parmesan (even high-quality) will not work well in this recipe. It's often tossed in additives to keep it from sticking together. The additives will keep the cheese from melting.
Store-bought freshly grated cheese is not ideal, because even if there are no additives, it's generally not grated as finely as you'll want for this recipe.
Parmesan Reggiano is considered the best quality Parmesan cheese, and has the most nutty flavor.
Parmesan Reggiano is not considered a vegetarian (or pescatarian) cheese because of the way it's processed. If you're concerned about this, look for a different variety of Parmesan. (You can often find Parmesan wedges labeled "vegetarian".)

Alfredo Sauce Notes: Alfredo di Lelio's original version used just pasta, butter and Parmesan. Other Italian versions add cream and egg. This version is the one I prefer, but if you have a favorite, simply swap your sauce and add the mushrooms and pasta.

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