Pasta Marinara with shiitake

 

The other night my daughter was craving plain pasta with tomato sauce so I made it.  I opened a can of organic crushed tomatoes, sautéed some onions and garlic and added fresh herbs. In the meantime I boiled some water, cooked the pasta and tossed it with some sauce. And then I thought…

Simple is great, and if it were summer, I would have made the sauce with fresh tomatoes, added a ton of slivered basil to the finished dish and I wouldn’t have needed to add another thing. But…being that it’s winter here in the Northeast and there’s not a perfect tomato in sight…I thought this could use something more. So I sautéed some sliced shiitake mushrooms in a hot pan with oil and garlic and cooked them in high heat until they were crispy. Now we’re talking perfection!

And it’s perfectly Italian, Vegan and easily Gluten-Free. Makes sense that something this perfectly good is good for all.

Still need a recipe? Your wish is my pleasure…

Ingredients

1 lb. spagetti or favorite gluten or gluten-free pasta

4 oz shiitake mushrooms – sliced

3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic – finely chopped

Parsley – for garnish

1 batch Marinara Sauce

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions

Make a batch of marinara sauce

Place a medium saute pan over medium/high heat, add oil and heat until hot but not smoking.

Add mushrooms. Cook until golden and crispy (about 3 minutes). Don’t over stir. Add garlic just before mushrooms are done. Remove from heat and season with salt.

Toss the pasta with the sauce. Plate and top with the mushrooms.

 

That was easy wasn’t it?

Would love  your feedback on this recipe or tell me about your perfect, easy dish that delights in all its simplicity.

 

8 Comments
  1. Artist Desiree East December 12, 2013 at 10:04 pm - Reply

    Can I hire you as my personal chef, Silvia? LOL. Thanks for this simple recipe – I love simple!!

  2. Lana Shlafer December 12, 2013 at 10:39 pm - Reply

    YUM! I love shitake mushrooms in everything. Just had flatbread with shitake mushrooms, zucchini and mozzarella for lunch (along with a salad)!

  3. claire December 12, 2013 at 11:17 pm - Reply

    I am going to try this with my spaghetti squash this week!

  4. Court December 16, 2013 at 11:13 pm - Reply

    ah! so good! Do you have a favorite or preferred brand or style of gluten-free pasta that you could recommend?

  5. Melissa Burkheimer December 17, 2013 at 2:17 am - Reply

    What Desiree said! This sounds delicious. I think I might throw something like this together for dinner. I cooked for the kids and never ate anything! Yum. (PS – I love how you perfectly placed the spaghetti on the plate!)

  6. Elise December 17, 2013 at 4:34 am - Reply

    You have a way of making everything look so effortless:). My boys all love simple pasta like your daughter…but we make it spicy. I always tell my clients that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Thanks for being a living example!

  7. Sarah Capehart February 14, 2017 at 9:41 pm - Reply

    This looks sooooo good!

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