Let's be honest... Pasta is paired best with a little whine. I love this pasta because you can pull it together with few pantry ingredients. Lately, I've been using a lot of my dried herbs instead of fresh. Dried rosemary is an earthy aromatic power house and goes so well with mushrooms. Those two ingredients with butter would make an amazing pasta, but I enhanced it with a few more ingredients. Just remember to always have good wine, good olive oil, and Parmesan and you can make gourmet pasta to impress even your biggest critic.
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 oz pancetta, cubed (optional, sub with bacon)
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 red onion, diced
1 tsp dried rosemary
pinch red chili flakes
1 cup red wine
1 lb fusili
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
In a large pot or skillet, heat olive oil and pancetta over medium-high until just starting to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until well browned, about 8 minutes. (If you eliminate the pancetta, add extra oil or butter to coat the mushrooms.) After the mushrooms have browned, add onion and season with salt, pepper, dried rosemary and red pepper flakes. Cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with wine, bring to simmer, reduce heat to low and cook until wine is almost completely reduced.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta until almost al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta. Add pasta to mushroom mixture with reserved pasta water and butter. Mix to combine and cook for 1 minute, until pasta is al dente and the pasta water creates a starchy sauce. Remove from heat and add parmesan cheese. Serve pasta with more cheese and freshly ground black pepper on top. Buon appetito!