Creamy Pasta with Wild Oyster Mushrooms and Sweet Peppers
A rich and satisfying vegetarian pasta that’s perfect for the last flush of wild oyster mushrooms of the season. This fall comfort food recipe uses walnuts and Italian seasonings to enhance the meatiness of the mushrooms.
Here in the Southern Appalachian Mountains we have had one of the most gorgeous fall seasons in many years. For a month it’s been jaw-dropping lushness and explosions of color. It’s been hard to get anything done inside, especially with temps regularly in the 60s and 70s! We knew this goodness was coming to an end, though, so we seized this last warm weekend as hard as we could.
Saturday was a muddy soggy slog down into the Green River Gorge to watch the Green Race in the pouring rain, and we loved every minute of it. If you’ve never heard of the Green Race, check out this NPR article that describes a bit of the craziness and carnage. Then Sunday was a rest day with a warm lazy paddle down the French Broad River. Much to my excitement I spotted a beautiful flush of wild oyster mushrooms that I could actually get to from my kayak. I have found so many wild mushrooms from the water!
Some of you are familiar with my Wild Oyster Mushroom Potstickers where I grind the mushrooms with walnuts to create a delicious filling. I love the combination of those two, as it produces such a rich flavor that does not lack meat in any way. So when I found this big beautiful flush I knew I wanted to make them again. But I had half the mushrooms left the next day and decided to take a different direction on the meat substitute concept. Craving comfort food, I leaned into an Italian pasta idea and went for it. It turned out great! This recipe will be a go-to from here on out.
In this recipe I’ve noted some gluten-free substitutions that I used and was not disappointed in the least. I used arugula because I have a ton of it in the garden, and it’s delicious, but you could substitute spinach and add it in step 8 instead.
Creamy Pasta with Wild Oyster Mushrooms and Sweet Peppers Recipe
yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked pasta (Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti is excellent for gluten-free)
6 cups oyster mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 1/2 cups sweet peppers, chopped small
1 tablespoon butter
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon flour (oat flour for gluten-free)
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cups (packed) arugula, rinsed and chopped
Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste
Directions
Cook your pasta al dente according to package directions. If you use gluten-free pasta you’ll likely need to rinse it under cold water to keep it from over-cooking. Before draining, reserve a few tablespoons of the pasta water and keep hot.
Meanwhile, saute the sliced mushrooms in a large skillet over medium heat until they are lightly browned. You’ll do this in batches with 1/2 tbs olive oil in each batch. If your mushrooms are wet to begin with (mine were, as they had been rained on and I had to wash them) I recommend cooking them in a dry pain for a few minutes first so they release the water, then add the oil and continue to saute.
When all the mushrooms are cooked, put them in a food processor with the walnuts, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse the mixture a few times until it is chopped small, but not too finely ground. You want a ground pork or TVP type texture.
Heat 1 tbs olive oil in the skillet on medium heat. Add the oyster mushroom mixture to the skillet and saute, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Remove mixture from the skillet and set aside, keeping warm.
Add 1 tbs olive oil to the skillet on medium heat. Add the onion and peppers, and saute until the onion is lightly browned and the peppers have softened up (8-10 minutes). About halfway through add the arugula to the skillet.
Add the butter and garlic to the skillet. When the butter has melted, sprinkle in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring well.
Stir in the cream and Dijon mustard, getting rid of any lumps the flour may have formed. The sauce will thicken quickly, so it will only take about a minute before the next step.
Add the oyster mushroom mixture and stir into the skillet to warm through.
Add the reserved hot pasta water to the skillet and stir in. Then stir in the drained pasta until it is coated with the sauce. Add more salt and pepper as needed, and either stir in Parmesan to taste (I used about a half cup) or serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top.
Featured Fonts: Buena Park, Trattatello
