EASY MUSHROOM AND PARMESAN PASTA

EASY MUSHROOM AND PARMESAN PASTA image

Yield 2-6 people, depending on how much pasta you add.

Number Of Ingredients 9

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a cup or so of leftover cooked pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, doesn't matter) per person
1 tb olive oil
1 tb butter
8 oz diced mushrooms
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of chopped fresh basil or italin parsley (optional)
1/4 cup of parmesan per serving
salt and pepper
Up to a 1/2 cup diced prosciutto, red pepper, toasted walnuts, crumbled gorgonzola, or anything else that you have on hand and crave. (optional)

Steps:

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, then melt the butter. Add mushrooms, and saute for 15 or more minutes. First they'll sweat and go limp, then toast. You're going to saute them until they've lost almost all their moisture and become hard. (Turn up heat to medium-high if necessary.) Add garlic to the mushrooms at about the 12 minute mark, and saute until it browns. When mushrooms and garlic are nearly done, add pasta to pan, and saute, stirring vigorously until it loses its moisture and has a drier, harder texture. (If you're adding an optional ingredient, such as red pepper, that needs to be cooked, you should add it now.) Liberally add fresh ground pepper, until the pepper adds some heat to the dish. Add salt to taste. Add herbs and any remaining optional ingredients and saute for a moment more. Transfer to plates. Sprinkle with at least 1/4 cup parmesan per serving (go ahead and add more, if you wish) and toss.