Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta

Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta The "cream" in this recipe comes from blending some of the mushrooms and broth together. This creates a thick, rich texture for the mushroom sauce without the saturated fat and calories of real cream. Serves four as a main dish. Ingredients · 1 tablespoon olive oil · 2 cloves garlic, minced · 10 ounces wild mushrooms; use as many different types of mushrooms as you like, such as shiitake, maitake, portobello, straw, enoki, oyster, chanterelles, cremini, morel, porcini, matsutake, etc. · 1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth · 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried ground rosemary (dried herb) · 1 teaspoon dried ground thyme (dried herb) · Fresh ground black pepper, to taste · ¼ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese · 12 ounces (dry weight) whole-grain pasta; any whole-grain pasta, such as wheat, spelt, buckwheat, kamut, or rye, will work well for this recipe Instructions · Bring a large pot of water to boil while preparing the other ingredients. · Clean and coarsely chop the mushrooms. · Mince the garlic and grate the fresh parmesan cheese. · In a deep skillet or stove-top pan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat until the garlic just turns golden. · Add low-sodium vegetable broth and mushrooms; return mixture to a simmer (low boil). · Add rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and half of the parmesan cheese and stir. · Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to instructions (usually 8 to 10 minutes). · While pasta is cooking, stir mushroom mixture at a simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. · Very carefully (it's very hot!) remove approximately 1 cup of mushrooms and broth and place in a blender. · Very carefully (it's very hot!) blend the mushrooms and broth. Use a lid on the blender; place the lid lightly and lift several times to vent the steam as you blend. This will prevent the lid from blowing off the blender due to steam buildup. · Return blended mushrooms and broth to pan; stir to combine with mushroom mixture. Reduce heat until pasta is ready. · Drain pasta and mix pasta and mushroom sauce together. Stir to combine ingredients and coat pasta. · Dish onto plates and sprinkle each serving with a bit of the remaining parmesan cheese. · Serve and enjoy! Serving suggestion: For a nice meal, serve with salad or cooked greens.