I was a picky child and there really wasn’t too much that I liked. Tomatoes, onions, zucchini and mushrooms were all off the list. Strangely enough, I loved spinach, broccoli and turnips. Maybe I was less of a picky child and more of one with distinct tastes. I remember once being cornered by my aunt who shoved an entire raw mushroom covered in dip (I was not a fan of dips either) right into my mouth. I immediately burst into tears and ran to the bathroom where the whole thing ended up in a napkin and into the garbage. It took me years before I could attempt another try at mushrooms or dip.
But then I discovered that if you threw enough butter and garlic at a mushroom it became really freaking delicious. So enter this pasta dish which started off as a side dish and turned into the main course. A really, really rich and buttery main course and perfect for serving for company. You definitely want to serve a good, bitter green salad alongside to help cut the richness. It can definitely be treated as a lighter dish by cutting in half the butter and olive oil and subbing in some chicken stock instead to make something a little less dangerous too. Options!
Sure the butter and garlic play well here, but it’s those tangy, salty capers that add a good zing! Don’t leave them out. I also really loved the pasta shape that I used. Kind of a square, wavy little number that was pillowy and perfect. My pasta bag was all in Italian so I couldn’t distinguish anything from the packaging. But if you know what kind of pasta this is, please let me know in the comments. I got it at the Santa Barbara market on Commercial Drive in Vancouver in case you’re local and want to pick some up.
roasted garlicky mushrooms with pasta
(adapted from Gourmet)
1 lb mushrooms, I used sliced baby bellas, but cremini or buttons would work well too
2 T capers
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
juice from 1 lemon1/2 – 3/4 lb short pasta
Parmesan cheese
handful of parsley (optional)Preheat oven to 450F with rack in the middle.
Toss mushrooms with capers, garlic, oil, and a good grind of pepper in a 2-qt shallow baking dish. Or split them up into 2 1 quart baking dishes like I did. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, get pasta going according to package directions, drain reserving 2 tablespoons of cooking water. Add cooking water, mushrooms and lemon juice and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley, if using. Serves 4-6 people.
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Ooh, This pasta looks terrific! Roasted mushrooms are some of my favorite vegetables ever–I just don’t get to eat them much because I happen to live with a mushroom-hater. Well, I guess I know what to do the next time someone goes out of town… 🙂
Your aunt sounds pretty wild, shoving raw mushrooms down young children’s throats. This looks delicious and would go well with gnocchi perhaps for the ultimate wintry comfort.
I’m still trying to find a way to like mushrooms…it’s certainly a work in progress. I don’t think I’ve tried butter yet though which is the obvious solution!
Those mushrooms make my heart melt! Yum!
Eileen, my husband is a bit of a mushroom hater & he loved this dish, maybe this might sway your partner?
Ha, no kidding, Elizabeth! Traumatic!!
Joanne, butter is key 🙂
Thanks, WVS!!
I love mushrooms so much that I went on a mushroom foraging hike last spring here in TO. I found 2 morels that were too far gone for food consumption but I took pics of it anyway. It was so much fun, almost like a scavenger hunt.
As a kid however, I hated mushrooms and called them washrooms haha!
Anyway, you sold me on buttery and garlic! Yum!
Oh my, this looks good! I’ve never seen that pasta shape, but it looks so pretty with the mushrooms. I hated mushrooms until 2010 (mushrooms and hotdogs were my longtime avoided foods) but then I discovered portobello mushrooms and the rest is history. I like the sound of the capers in there!
Isn’t it funny how some of the foods we hated as a child become our favorites as adults? Mushrooms were one of those foods for me too. Now, this dish looks mouthwatering!
I am a huge Mushroom lover, will definitely try this, if I wasn’t working I would make right now, made me hungry!
I love everything about this! Would probably end up eating those mushrooms as a snack 🙂
I too, was a picky child. I think you named most of my dislike in your post. Mushrooms were a big one for me. I didn’t want to go anywhere near them. Of course I have also begun to like them when paired with an ample amount of butter. 🙂
Ummm…..YES PLEASE!!!! This looks out of this world, I love coming up with new sauces for pasta and yours is next on my list to try!
Mushrooms are wasted on me.
Wouldn’t google help you figure out what your pasta is called?
ET go home.
This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try it! Thank you.
Even with butter it still hard for one of my sons to eat mushrooms. I love them, I could put them in all my dishes. What a simple, yet chic recipe.
Bijoux, I’d love to go on a mushroom hunt! Sounds like so much fun and so many opportunities for taking great photos 🙂 Haha, washrooms, too funny!
Thanks Nicole, I bought more of the pasta & the package doesn’t name the shape. Frustrating!! No hot dog love?
Thanks Amanda, I know, but age and butter help a lot 🙂
Charlotte, if you love mushrooms, I’m sure you’ll love this recipe a whole lot!
Sues, you totally could!!
Bernadette, funny how our tastes change over time. I’m still a bit iffy on eggplant though!
Thanks Julia!!
ET, too bad for you. And I did google it & came up with nothing which was why I was reaching out.
🙂 Joanne
Thanks Winnie!
Helene, maybe your sons will grow out of their mushroom hate? I did!
Hi – just wondering if your pasta is called ‘taccozzette’? It certainly is more than adequate as a shape even if it isn’t exactly the one you used 🙂
Kickpleat, Last year, I had made plans to go mushroom foraging with a friend who opted out at the last minute, so I ended up going alone with a group of other foragers as part of a local culinary adventure company. I now know the secret location along the Don Valley Parkway where local chefs go foraging for their morel mushrooms. May and October are the months to go searching for them, right after a heavy rainfall. Rubber boots are mandatory 😀
Hi Sharon, it’s not like the pictures I’ve seen which look like little lasagna noodles with the frills along the edges. I bought another bag and checked all over it and there is no name!!! So super frustrating. And my google-fu is letting me down too. But thank you for your help.
Bijoux, ahhhh, now you know their secrets!! How awesome! That would be a fun way to spend an afternoon – we’re used to rainfalls and rubber boots. I just need to find a foraging spot & the knowledge to pick one that isn’t poisonous!
WOH mushroom and dip trauma! yikes! totally hear you how a childhood food trauma can stay with you… 🙂
love the sound of this, especially the capers in the mix… and funnily enough i just ate an ENTIRE BOWL of sauteed mushrooms with wilted greens and shallots… sometimes i get insaneo mushroom cravings!
^__^
Lyndsay, I seriously have a shit-ton of childhood food trauma!! I’m not kidding!! Anyway, yes, with the capers this is some good stuff. Oooh, wilted greens would be so good in this! Remembering for next time!!
All I can say is Yummers! I used papardelle pasta, because that is what I had on hand and it was excellent!
Marie, I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish! It’s a keeper for sure 🙂
I have never thought of roasting mushrooms…. why have I never thought of this ?! I roast everything else and I love mushrooms. I’m actually going to roast some garlic and then add in the mushrooms, I love roasted garlic.
Heather
oh if you get a chance try the above with cooked FRESH salmon that has been broken up into bits after it has been cooked. That with the lemon & capers & olive oil is yummy and my kids love it.
Heather