There’s something pretty wonderful about roasting mushrooms, herbs and lemons together. It fills the while house with the aromas of fall and harvest. This one is particularly good from Hetty Lui McKinnon in NYTimes Cooking. The “sauce,” as it is, comes from the pasta water, butter and a splash of soy sauce while the heart of the dish itself is the mix of mushrooms you choose to use alongside the fresh herbs and lemons.
For this you’ll need: About 2-3 cups of mixed mushrooms (chopped; we used crimini, shiitake and white), 1 red onion (cut into 1/4″ wedges), 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves (chopped), 4-5 fresh rosemary sprigs, 4-5 fresh thyme sprigs, x2 lemons (1-1/2 lemons cut into 1″ wedges, 1/2 lemon saved for juicing at end), 4 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed whole), 1 lb short pasta (we used penne), 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, grated parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 425.
In a large bowl combine mushrooms, herbs, red onion wedges, lemon wedges, salt, crushed garlic cloves, pepper and a good splash of olive oil. Mix well to coat everything and then spread into a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Start a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.
Place the mushroom mixture into the preheated oven and allow to roast until just the mushrooms break down and start to brown at the edges – 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the pasta to al dente per the package instructions. Drain the pasta saving at least 1 cup of the pasta water and return the cooked pasta to the pot it was boiled in. Add the butter, soy sauce and 1/2 cup pasta water over medium/low heat and stir well until the butter melts and everything is combined, 1-2 mins. Turn off the heat.
Remove the mushroom mixture from the oven and (be careful because it is hot, so use tongs or something similar) remove some of the red onion wedges (to your taste, they can be overwhelming), the sprigs of rosemary and thyme, and gently squeeze the roasted lemon wedges over the entire mixture. Discard the juiced lemon wedges, sprigs and red onion you don’t want and scrape all of the mushroom mixture, including all of the roasted goodness stuck to the pan, into the pasta/butter mixture.
Add another 1/2 cup pasta water, the juice of the 1/2 reserved lemon and the grated parmesan and stir well until everything is combined well. Use more pasta water a little at a time to create the right consistency for your sauce.
Serve with more grated parmesan on the side.
Dinner at Our Place 