At this time of year chanterelle mushrooms get featured at the grocery stores so I decided to use these in-season mildly flavored wild mushrooms to make this simple pasta dish.
The inspiration
I made this quick and easy pasta dish for a dinner I was hosting last week with our good friends Jo and Oliver for a low-key September dinner. Simple because my friend Jo doesn’t eat any spices, and all this has are simple ingredients such as mushrooms, leeks, garlic, pasta, salt and pepper, and cheese. Nothing fancy, but delicious nonetheless.
I added cheese for a gooey cheesy pasta but this can easily be made dairy free by just skipping the cheese. The flavor in this fall-inspired pasta dish is all in the wild mushrooms and leeks. Give it a try!
Conchiglie Pasta with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Leeks
Ingredients:
- 2 lb chanterelle mushrooms cut into thin strips
- 2 leeks white and light green parts finely cut
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb conchiglie pasta, these are little shell shaped pastas but you can use any pasta you like.
- Salt and pepper
- Mozzarella cheese as much as you want
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Olive oil
Directions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Save 2 cups pasta water and then drain pasta. Set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add leeks and garlic. Cook until leeks are tender and aroma is released about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook mushrooms until they are tender.
- Next add the cooked pasta and 1 cup pasta water mix together with the mushrooms. Cook everything together for a couple of minutes. At this point you can serve the pasta as is for a dairy free pasta dish.
- To make a cheesy pasta, transfer pasta to a baking dish. Add mozzarella cheese and bake in a 375 degrees oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Serve with Parmesan cheese shavings and red chili flakes for some extra heat.
