The way of cooking pasta has evolved and has been adapted to local culture of cooking. However, more often than not, I like to cook pasta the way it was originally cooked i.e. with lots of butter, cream, milk and cheese and with different herbs. And yes, also with white round mushrooms (specifically).
As I love my pasta to be buttery, creamy and garlicky, I find this dish - Brown Butter Mushroom Spaghetti with Crunchy Homemade Breadcrumbs - to be another yummy one. The taste of the pasta is enhanced by the creamy sauce, sweet mushrooms and fresh parsley. The crunchy toasted breadcrumbs brings the taste to another level. (I never knew that I can add toasted breadcrumbs to a pasta dish until a friend told me so.) Topped with a dash of grated Cheddar cheese, this plate of pasta is simply delicious.
Ingredients:
- 150 g pasta (spaghetti or linguine) (for 2 persons)
- 1 slice of bread (any kind)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 gloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon wheat flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup of cream
- 8 pieces white round mushrooms, sliced
- 3 sprigs of parsley, chopped
- Some finely chopped red capsicum
- Salt and pepper (according to taste)
- Some Cheddar cheese
Method:
- Boil the pasta as per instruction on the packaging. Drain and set aside.
- Bake 1 slice of bread and grind it using a food processor. Set aside the breadcrumbs.
- Heat up a non-stick pan with a tablespoon of olive oil or cooking oil.
- When the oil is hot, add the breadcrumbs. Fry them until they are crunchy. Dish out and set aside.
- Add the butter into the pan.
- Add the chopped garlic and saute them till they are fragrant.
- Add the mushrooms and fry them till they are brown.
- Add the wheat flour. Stir so that they do not form lumps in the pan.
- Add the milk and stir.
- Add the cream.
- Add salt and black pepper (according to taste).
- When the sauce has thickened, add the pasta and stir to coat them with the sauce.
- Add the chopped red capsicum and fresh parsley. Stir to mix them up with the pasta.
- Add the breadcrumbs. Mix them up with the pasta. (However, you need not add the breadcrumbs now. You may add them when you are about to eat the pasta so that the breadcrumbs will be very crunchy.)
- Dish the pasta onto a serving plate.
- Sprinkle some grated Cheddar cheese on top.