This rich, creamy pasta sauce was the result of an experiment. We wanted to make a creamy, mushroom-y pasta topping with no cream. We're trying to watch our diet a little better, and while we were eating pasta there was no need to indulge in cream, right?
The creaminess and thickness in a sauce can come through many methods. One of these is cream - the common ingredient of Alfredo and other cream sauces. Some pasta toppings, like carbonara, use eggs to thicken and give richness.
One lighter option is a roux, or flour-thickened, sauce. We had seen this dismissed as too difficult. Pshaw! A roux is nothing more than a little butter and flour, cooked over low heat until the flour grains swell. Then they are whisked together with hot liquid, the grains swell to thicken the sauce and voilá! You have thick, creamy pasta sauce without too much fat.
The bulk of this sauce is white wine, broth, and mushrooms. We don't use a lot of wild mushrooms - they are expensive, and just a few will do here to give flavor.
The result? Silky, thick and creamy pasta sauce - full of toothsome mushrooms and a little green parsley. The flavor of wine, wild mushrooms, and black pepper predominate - and it's not too fattening! Leaves you an excuse for plenty of cheese...
Wild Mushroom Pasta Sauce
serves 4
1 1/2 ounce package wild mushrooms
1 cup chicken, vegetable or beef broth, boiling
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons butter, divided
3 8-ounce packages of white button or portobello mushrooms, washed and chopped
4 large shallots, minced
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped sage
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Crumble the dried mushrooms into a glass bowl or measuring cup and pour the boiling broth over them. Let steep for at least 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the drained liquid. Mix the drained liquid with the white wine.
Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped button or portobello mushrooms and let sit, without stirring, for about four minutes or until they have thoroughly browned on one side. Stir and let them cook on the other side - again, without stirring - for about four minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, sage and steeped wild mushrooms. Turn the heat to low, and cook until they are all fragrant and soft.
Add the second tablespoon of butter and, when melted, add the flour. Stir rapidly, letting the flour thicken with the butter into a paste. Have a whisk ready! Slowly pour in the mushroom broth and white wine, whisking rapidly. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking, until the mixture thickens. It should thicken to the consistency of a thick gravy.
Add the chopped parsley, stirring until wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over pasta with plenty of fresh Parmesan.
More Mushrooms!
• Recipe: Easy and Quick Mushroom Soup
• Survey: Do You Wash Mushrooms Before Cooking Them?
• Recipe: Parsnip, Mushroom and Leek Gratin
• Giant Matsutake Mushroom!
• Recipe: Roasted Lamb Chops and Mushrooms
Originally published February 19, 2008

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Comments (18)
This looks/sounds wonderful! I love noodles with mushrooms and "cream" sauce.
The miserable Chicago winter had me craving an old-fashioned tuna casserole last week and I ended up making a basic roux (flour, butter and skim milk) then added sauteed mushrooms and shallots, peas, tuna, egg noodles, lots of black pepper and parmesan cheese. It was the perfect comfort food for a cold night.
Do not be afraid to try a roux -they are really very easy and versatile.
Delish!
one way of creating a very flavourful and silky sauce would be to do an "immersion" style of cooking the pasta itself. while you should saute the components first, pour all the liquids and fixings into a pot of pasta with a little extra broth or water. let it simmer away and the pasta will absorb all the tasty liquid while also releasing some of its starches to assist with thickening. you may want more starch but a little cheese and butter will get you a creamy sauce in no time.
There must be something in the air! Mushrooms are all over the food blogs. Great timing too, as scientists are reporting the antioxidant health benefits of the plain old button mushroom compared to its more exotic, more expensive relatives. And combined with a few simple ingredients, the humble button mushroom can taste pretty amazing, as your recipe demonstrates.
Sounds delicious. I am going to bookmark this site!
Anybody give any thought to using evaporated milk..?
Adding this to my list of recipes to try, looks delicious. I just want to stay inside all winter and cook!
I make something extremely close to this using Madeira wine--it's flavor blends with mushrooms very well. The only differences are: I saute chicken (boneless, skinless breasts cut into strips) first, then remove it to add back later. I use 1 cup chicken broth, and 1 cup beef broth(And use 1/2 cup of cream--which I SUPPOSE could be left out!) Lastly, I use cornstarch as my thickener.
--there you have one of our family favorites: Pasta Da Stephie!
Personally I'm a fan of the LCHF eating scheme. Cut down on carbs but eat lots of fat (yes, fat. F-A-T. All types) and also protein and above-ground vegetables. Avoiding anything "diet" or "light", products that has replaced traditional, good nutrients with fabricated artificial ingredients (like margarine).
I would LOVE to get some recipes for this style of cooking, but I guess AT isn't the place for that?
(and yes, I do miss homemade bread =( and potatoes. I'm a carbohydrates junkie)
I'm trying to eat more seasonal food and this recipe looks divine! Thanks!
this is delicious! I did revise however.
1. i used only two 8-oz packs of mushrooms and it was just fine (one button, one baby bella)
2. upped the wine to 1 1/2 cups
3. just about doubled the sage (or maybe even more)
i served it over papperdelle..will definitely be making this one many times again.
even my mushroom FEARING bf said it was "actually really good"
This is definitely worth making again. It's very filling, and I think it successfully fed 6 people, with some egg noodles. Delicious.
Wait, I'm confused. As the recipe is written, one makes the roux in the pot with the mushrooms already in it? Somehow I expected that one would make the roux and then add the mushrooms. . .
I screwed this up big time.
Oddly enough, I make a mushroom sauce like this all the time with . . . cream! How funny. I will have to try this version.
This was terrific, no need for cream at all. Like some, I added more sage. And for me, the more mushrooms the better :) I used two 10 oz packages of sliced mushrooms from Trader Joe's along with the dried mushrooms. I also added a little cracked red pepper.
I, too, was thrown by doing the 'roux' last, but it worked fine for me. Just let it cook down, don't rush it. I threw my spaghetti noodles into the pan at the end to cook altogether. This would also be wonderful over polenta.
I love mushrooms and I love pasta. I'm going to try this using the evaporated milk suggestion. We'll see.
This would be fabulous with the Porcini broth cubes I just brought back from Italy. Guess I"ll be visiting the "mushroom man" at tomorrow's farmer's market!