Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti in White Sauce | Vegetarian Pasta Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 Servings
 
Ingredients
  • Button mushrooms – 400 gms
  • Garlic – 8 to 10 cloves, minced
  • Spaghetti – 250 gms
  • Unsalted butter – 4 tbsp
  • All-purpose flour – 2 tbsp
  • Milk – 400 ml
  • Heavy cream – 2 tbsp
  • Italian seasoning – 1 & ½ tsp
  • Cheddar cheese – ¼ cup, grated
  • Olive oil – 2 tbsp
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • Fresh basil leaves – ½ cup, thinly sliced
Instructions
  1. Boil a large pot full of water with about 2 tablespoons salt in it. When the water comes to rolling boil, add spaghetti to it and cook until al dente as per the packet instructions. The pasta packet mentions the time to cook the pasta perfectly i.e. al dente which you can follow.
  2. Once pasta is cooked till al dente, reserve about 2 cups of pasta water and drain the remaining out. Leave the spaghetti in a colander after quickly giving it a rinse under cold running water.
  3. Wipe each button mushroom with damp kitchen towel; do not rinse mushrooms with water as water will make them soggy. Slice the button mushrooms thinly, about 1-cm thick.
  4. Heat olive oil in a large pan and add the sliced mushrooms in a single layer which will ensure that the edges of the mushrooms brown nicely.
  5. Sauté the mushrooms on medium-high heat until they turn golden brown at the bottom; then flip then over and sauté the other side until golden brown. This would take about 15 minutes total. Then take them out on a plate and set aside. Sprinkle couple of pinches of salt all over the sautéed mushrooms.
  6. Now add the butter to the same pan and let it melt on low heat. Once butter melts completely, add flour and keep stirring continuously keeping the heat at minimum for about a minute. Flour may seem to clump but do not worry about that.
  7. Next add milk while stirring continuously. After adding the entire milk, switch to a wire whisk and keep whisking the milk until the flour seems to dissolve completely.
  8. Add the heavy cream, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper to taste and mix everything thoroughly. Now bring the milk mixture to a slow boil keeping the heat on medium. As soon as the milk starts to boil, it will thicken and you will get the desired white sauce consistency.
  9. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes. You can taste the sauce at this point for the seasoning and adjust if needed. You may even add a dash of cayenne pepper if you like the kick.
  10. Now add the cooked spaghetti and grated cheddar cheese. Using a tong, mix the spaghetti & cheese with the sauce and so that each noodle is quoted with the cheesy sauce.
  11. If the sauce thickens too much, add the reserved pasta water a little at a time and mix it thoroughly with everything. This will loosen the sauce and help in even mixing of all the ingredients. You may not need all the reserved pasta water; only add that much which is required to get the sauce to your desired consistency.
  12. Finally add the sautéed mushrooms & the fresh basil leaves and give a final mix so that mushrooms and basil are evenly distributed. Serve the warm creamy mushroom pasta with extra grated cheese on the side. Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://www.flavorquotient.com/2020/03/creamy-mushroom-spaghetti-in-white-sauce-vegetarian-pasta-recipe/