Bucatini with Mushrooms

I get Cooking Light every month and a lot of the recipes have meat in them. I just don't care much for meat anymore (but I do love seafood...), and while I am not a vegetarian exactly I don't care for cooking meat either, so I am always on the lookout for vegetarian recipes in there as well as stuff from other cultures. The current issue (probably November 2009) has a whole beautifully photographed section on how to create the perfect noodle bowl from a variety of cultures. I chose a little trip to Italy with Bucatini with Mushrooms.

By now my very few readers are probably familiar with my addiction to the Rutgers Gardens farm market, and I may have mentioned the guy who sells mushrooms. A whole stand dedicated to mushrooms - cremini, portobello, oyster, shiitake... and you can buy a mix of them as well. I immediately thought of this when I read this recipe and I made the plan to make it on a Friday so I would have wonderful fresh mushrooms to use. Of course I picked up the mix and got straight to work.


This recipe was a lot of work so of course I had a little assistance from my sous chef (Ken). In addition to the mushroom mix, the recipe calls for dried porcini mushrooms. According to many (including one of my favorites, Mark Bittman) the dried mushrooms add an extra dimension to the flavor profile of the dish. The 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream was an interesting addition also, but it gave the sauce a creamy texture which happens to go well with mushrooms.

I might make this again, but it was a lot of work. A special occasion might warrant it, but it would be necessary to have access to a mushroom blend like this one. The market is unfortunately only open until the end of October.