Recipe of the day: Umami mushroom rigatoni

Mushroom rigatoni is a rich, comforting pasta with Italian flair and guaranteed crowd appeal. It’s designed for real life: simple to prepare, hard to mess up and packed with flavour.

It’s especially perfect for the person who doesn’t usually cook (and may be feeling nervous about getting it right). With this dish, you can confidently serve up something delicious, no stress, no culinary drama.

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Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 250g rigatoni pasta (or another similar short pasta)
• 4 large portabello mushrooms
• 250g portabellini mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• ½ cup crème fraîche
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method:

Cook rigatoni in boiling salted water, until al dente.

Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water and drain pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, scrape out the black gills from the underside of the portabellos with a teaspoon. Cut each portabello in half and then cut each half into four chunky wedges.

Slice portabellinis into quarters.

Heat oil and butter in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat.

Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant.

Add mushrooms and thyme.

Cook mushrooms, tossing them often until just tender and golden brown.

Pour in the soy sauce and cook until absorbed.

Turn the heat down.

Stir in the crème fraîche, salt, pepper, and a splash of pasta water.

Add cooked pasta and toss gently to coat in the mushroom sauce.

Keep adding pasta water as needed to achieve a silky, shiny sauce.

Serve pasta with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and extra freshly ground black pepper. 

Supplied by: The South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association

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