Wild Mushroom Thyme & Spinach Pistachio Pesto Pasta
With the cold winter months upon us, comfort food such as pasta is something we enjoy as a family regularly. We have so many wonderful local mushrooms available here in Ontario. This pasta dish features a variety of my favourites, enoki, cremeni, shiitake, king Oyster and black oyster. Love the earthy unami flavours they add to pasta. The fresh spinach and pistachio pesto is a delicious accompaniment of nuttiness with the mushrooms. Pesto is my go to sauce when I have leftover greens that need to be used up before they wilt. You can substitute the spinach with arugula, kale or basil. What ever you have in your fridge that needs to be eaten. If you don’t have pistachios on hand, you can substitute other varieties of nuts to add to this pesto. Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pine nuts or hazelnuts are just as delicious.
Wild Mushroom Thyme and Spinach Pistachio Pesto Pasta
Materials
- 450 g spaghetti cooked al dente as per package directions
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 375 g mix mushrooms Enoki, Cremeni, Shiitake, King Oyster, Black Oyster
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves + extra for garnish
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- Spinach pesto see below
- 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese + extra for garnish
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Spinach Pesto
- 4 cup spinach
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp raw pistachio optional
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- To make pesto, place spinach, garlic and pistachio in a blender or food processor. With the motor running, slowly pour in olive oil and process until finely pureed. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a large deep saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook a few minutes on each side until golden. Add white wine and cook a few minutes longer until wine slightly reduces and then stir in parmigiano.
- Add cooked spaghetti, pesto, lemon juice, reserved pasta water and gently toss until pasta is well coated.
- Serve immediately garnished with fresh thyme leaves and parmigiano.
