Mushroom sauce for pasta?

Gramps

New member
Lately, my lady friend and I have been on a premium fresh pasta kick, focusing on various locally available specialty raviolis in particular. We can't seem to get enough of them... but I am getting more than a little tired of tomato-based sauces or pesto-based sauces no matter how good they may be. I need a little more variety! :)

The other day, she came home with a package of fresh grilled chicken and mozzarella raviolis which we may try to have for dinner tonight. Does anyone have a good recipe... or know of a prepared product... that would make for a good mushroom paste sauce for these raviolis?

I'm not looking for a tomato-based pasta or spaghetti sauce that happens to contain mushrooms. I'm looking for a true mushroom pasta sauce. Extra points for something that isn't too difficult to make, although I need it to be pretty darn good because my lady friend really isn't a hardcore mushroom fan like I am. :yum:

Any ideas on how or where I should start? Thanks! :chef:

Take care,
Tom
 
K

Kimchee

Guest
I like to saute a bit of onion and garlic in butter and olive oil.
Add some fine herbs if you have them, then a good splash of white wine.
Let the wine reduce a bit, then toss in the sliced mushrooms and toss
till coated. LOTS of mushrooms.
When done, add your preferred sauce.
 

Gramps

New member
I like to saute a bit of onion and garlic in butter and olive oil.
Add some fine herbs if you have them, then a good splash of white wine.
Let the wine reduce a bit, then toss in the sliced mushrooms and toss
till coated. LOTS of mushrooms.
When done, add your preferred sauce.
Excellent!!! :thumb:

Do you have a favorite type of mushroom to use for a dish like this? :confused:

Take care,
Tom
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
I would probably finely chop the mushrooms myself, if your lady is not so keen on mushrooms.
 
This isn't "Italian", but it's a kick-ass mushroom sauce:

Breezy Mushroom Stroganoff (adapted from "The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two")

1/4# fresh Shitake mushrooms
1/4# fresh Oyster mushrooms
1/4# fresh Cremini mushrooms
1/2# fresh White Button mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
Pinch of dried thyme or approx. a teaspoon of chopped fresh leaves
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1-1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
8-ounce container sour cream
2-3 tablespoons brandy or cognac
1/4-cup dry sherry
1# or so of wide egg noodles
2-3 teaspoons poppy seeds
Butter to toss with egg noodles

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, & toss with a few tablespoons of butter & the poppyseeds. Cover & set aside.

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly under running water, trim, (removing any tough stems from the Shitake & Oyster mushrooms), & slice thickly. In a large skillet, saute onion in the 4 tablespoons butter until transparent, then add mushrooms & continue cooking until they have released their excess moisture & it's starting to evaporate. Add thyme, chicken broth, & 3 tablespoons of the sour cream, lower heat, & simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add brandy, sherry, salt & pepper to taste, & the rest of the sour cream, stirring gently just until sour cream is heated thru. Do not overheat or sauce will curdle, but this is just an appearance issue & won't affect the taste. Taste & correct seasoning if necessary.

Serve over noodles with a green salad & crusty bread on the side.


(Although the sour cream "might" curdle a little with reheating, leftovers are just as tasty nuked in the microwave for lunch the next day.)
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Here's another possibility:

Shiitake Mushroom Sauce With Marsala
Serve with chicken breasts, steaks, pork or veal, serves 4.

4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. minced shallots
4 ounces Shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably. homemade
3/4 cup whipping cream, salt and pepper to taste


In a large skillet saute the shallots in butter for 1 minute. Add the Shiitake mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside. Add the Marsala to the pan and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and cook until reduced by half. Add the cream and cook over high heat for 3 minutes or until the sauce is of a creamy consistency. Return the mushrooms to the pan, salt and pepper to taste.

http://www.forestmushrooms.com/recipe/shiitake.html

I've always used sherry instead of marsala.

If she doesn't really like mushrooms, maybe you should strain her sauce to get rid of the big pieces of mr's.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Excellent!!! :thumb:

Do you have a favorite type of mushroom to use for a dish like this? :confused:

Take care,
Tom

I'd go with white button mushrooms to start with, Gramps. They are usually accepted by most people.

Please let us know how you and your lady liked the dish!

Lee
 

VeraBlue

Head Mistress
Gold Site Supporter
I keep boxed wines around for cooking. They are better than cooking wine which has salt, and you can always sample while you're cooking. Mushrooms goes nicely with chardonnay or even flat champagne (if you have any left from NYE).
Saute the mushrooms in butter with garlic and shallots( and pancetta if you want to add that flavour, too) till browned. Deglaze the pan with wine and a little chicken stock. Flavour with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Finish with fresh parsley. Toss the ravioli into the pan to coat. Top with crushed amaretti cookies, grated parm and more parsley.
 

Gramps

New member
Wow!!! So many good ideas!!! :respect: Thank you folks!!! :applause:

I am sad to report that unexpected duties called me elsewhere today and I had to punt come dinnertime. No time to go get any mushrooms of any kind or anything else... so we had to go with another boring tomato-based pasta sauce with grated asiago cheese yet again. :hide:

The good news is that the grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese raviolis themselves were very good and we do have a second container of them! :clap: Probably won't have them again until later this week or next week, but that gives me plenty of time to "perfect" my Gramp's special mushroom pasta sauce! :cooking: :smile: :thumb:

Take care,
Tom
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
Gramps -

a whole lotta' "pasta dressings" - note I did not use the word "sauce" - are a whole lot lighter than the stereotype "swimming in tomato gravy" kind of stuff.

the "Alfredo" variety - cheese and cream with a few thousand variations - is classic - but it is also fairly "heavy"

another whole "class" of pasta dressings is olive oil based and/or vinaigrette based.
it's thinner, it's lighter - you've likely encountered these types in a cold pasta salad - but they work just as well for dressing hot pasta.

a few kazillion "additives" used - herbs - as mentioned. need to be fresh for this application - jamming a dried flake of thyme under yer' gum isn't my idea of nifty.

"ordinary' onions, scallions, shallots, leeks - all bring their own twist.
bit of celeriac - Italian classic!

as for the mushrooms proper, you can do raw-to-dang-near-crispy-fried.
how mushrooms are cooked does affect not only the mouth feel but also taste.

one disagreement from the above ideas, I would not be mincing mushrooms into smithereens.

my personal favorite is morels. they are very seasonal, may not ever appear in your market, and for this kind of dish must be fresh, not dried. dried mushrooms are great for making a mushroom liquor for flavoring base, but the texture of reconstituted dried mushrooms is really awful, imho.

next on my list would be porcini, followed by crimini, and at desperate last the white button. which is not to say the humble white button does not do a fine job.

and don't get hung up on "must be Italian" - coupla' black olives sliced thin - going Greek.
fresh dill - go Nordic.

fresh ground black pepper, right....? none of that out of the shaker stuff.

wine, citrus juices, shot of jack. all that stuff works.

I do that kind of stuff all the time - but don't ask for a recipe because I do it all 'on the fly' - got chives? in they go, lonely looking orange/pomegranate,,,,. don't measure, not picky, check the fridge and see what's there.

the one tip I can offer is don't "overboard" on a strong flavor. I sniff/smell the pan as I'm going along and sniff anything I'm thinking about tossing in. it the smells don't work, taste likely won't either.....

oh, and a nice fresh grated cheese to sprinkle. get a grater, invest in a real Parmesan wedge - not the sawdust in the green can. yeah, it makes a difference (g)

good luck!
 
K

Kimchee

Guest
I like cremini mushrooms, they have a great flavor that holds up
to sauteing.
 

Gramps

New member
I would probably finely chop the mushrooms myself, if your lady is not so keen on mushrooms.
I talked with her about this last night. I think she is a little weird when it comes to mushrooms because she says she likes the taste but not the texture of the mushrooms. :good:

Anyway, she says to leave the mushroom pieces big enough for her to pick them out. :( Her choice, not mine!!! :bonk:

Take care,
Tom
 

Gramps

New member
This isn't "Italian", but it's a kick-ass mushroom sauce:

Breezy Mushroom Stroganoff (adapted from "The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two")

1/4# fresh Shitake mushrooms
1/4# fresh Oyster mushrooms
1/4# fresh Cremini mushrooms
1/2# fresh White Button mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
Pinch of dried thyme or approx. a teaspoon of chopped fresh leaves
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1-1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
8-ounce container sour cream
2-3 tablespoons brandy or cognac
1/4-cup dry sherry
1# or so of wide egg noodles
2-3 teaspoons poppy seeds
Butter to toss with egg noodles

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, & toss with a few tablespoons of butter & the poppyseeds. Cover & set aside.

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly under running water, trim, (removing any tough stems from the Shitake & Oyster mushrooms), & slice thickly. In a large skillet, saute onion in the 4 tablespoons butter until transparent, then add mushrooms & continue cooking until they have released their excess moisture & it's starting to evaporate. Add thyme, chicken broth, & 3 tablespoons of the sour cream, lower heat, & simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add brandy, sherry, salt & pepper to taste, & the rest of the sour cream, stirring gently just until sour cream is heated thru. Do not overheat or sauce will curdle, but this is just an appearance issue & won't affect the taste. Taste & correct seasoning if necessary.

Serve over noodles with a green salad & crusty bread on the side.


(Although the sour cream "might" curdle a little with reheating, leftovers are just as tasty nuked in the microwave for lunch the next day.)
This sounds great for a pound of wide egg noodles and stroganoff, but it may be a little overkill for these raviolis. :( Still, I'm bringing this list of ingredients to the market today. :) Sounds damn good for the big weekend meal maybe! :beer:

Take care,
Tom
 
If she's THAT anti-mushroom, frankly I wouldn't bother with a mushroom sauce. Who wants to watch someone pick out all the mushrooms - lol!!

Just make or purchase an Alfredo or Alfredo-type cream sauce. That would go perfectly with your ravioli - I've used it myself for that type/flavor of pasta. And although I've never tried it myself, you could most likely just make the sauce from my Stroganoff recipe without using/adding any of the mushrooms. It would most likely be just as tasty. As a plus, you could control the amount of salt - many of the commercially-prepared cream sauces can be overly salty.
 

Gramps

New member
I really like mushroom alfredos similar to this one: http://www.valleymushrooms.com/mushroomalfredo.html

I'm afraid that if the raviolis are already really cheesy, though, as opposed to only having a little cheese, then a thick creamy alfredo sauce like that would be way too heaving. It -is- good on chicken or mushroom ravioli otherwise, though.
Actually, it sounds awfully similar to the broccoli with cheese sauce that I made just last week. :yum: The grilled chicken and mozzarella cheese raviolis are not overly cheesy themselves, but we weren't really thinking of an alfredo sauce or similar. Not looking for that thick, cheesy taste so much as we are looking for a relatively light, mushroom-dominant kind of taste. :chef: But thanks for the input anyway! :tiphat:

Take care,
Tom
 

Gramps

New member
Here's another possibility:

Shiitake Mushroom Sauce With Marsala
Serve with chicken breasts, steaks, pork or veal, serves 4.

4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. minced shallots
4 ounces Shiitake mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably. homemade
3/4 cup whipping cream, salt and pepper to taste


In a large skillet saute the shallots in butter for 1 minute. Add the Shiitake mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside. Add the Marsala to the pan and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and cook until reduced by half. Add the cream and cook over high heat for 3 minutes or until the sauce is of a creamy consistency. Return the mushrooms to the pan, salt and pepper to taste.

http://www.forestmushrooms.com/recipe/shiitake.html

I've always used sherry instead of marsala.

If she doesn't really like mushrooms, maybe you should strain her sauce to get rid of the big pieces of mr's.
Now, this sounds like it has real possibilities! :thumb: Thank you! :tiphat:

As I posted above, my lady friend wants the mushroom pieces left big enough to pick out... and which I will gladly take on my plate! :mrgreen:

Take care,
Tom
 

Gramps

New member
I'd go with white button mushrooms to start with, Gramps. They are usually accepted by most people.

Please let us know how you and your lady liked the dish!

Lee
Will do! :punk:

I keep boxed wines around for cooking. They are better than cooking wine which has salt, and you can always sample while you're cooking. Mushrooms goes nicely with chardonnay or even flat champagne (if you have any left from NYE).
Saute the mushrooms in butter with garlic and shallots( and pancetta if you want to add that flavour, too) till browned. Deglaze the pan with wine and a little chicken stock. Flavour with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Finish with fresh parsley. Toss the ravioli into the pan to coat. Top with crushed amaretti cookies, grated parm and more parsley.
You had me... :respect: ... right up until the crushed amaretti cookies! :excl:

I'll have to figure out what that's all about. I had not envisioned any "crushed cookies" in my mushroom ravioli sauce! :ohmy:

Take care,
Tom
 

Gramps

New member
I like cremini mushrooms, they have a great flavor that holds up to sauteing.
Saw those listed in one of the recipes above. :smile: I don't think I am familiar with them... but if they are in the supermarket today, I will be sure to buy a package to try! :mrgreen:

Take care,
Tom
 

Gramps

New member
Gramps -

a whole lotta' "pasta dressings" - note I did not use the word "sauce" - are a whole lot lighter than the stereotype "swimming in tomato gravy" kind of stuff.

the "Alfredo" variety - cheese and cream with a few thousand variations - is classic - but it is also fairly "heavy"

another whole "class" of pasta dressings is olive oil based and/or vinaigrette based.
it's thinner, it's lighter - you've likely encountered these types in a cold pasta salad - but they work just as well for dressing hot pasta.

a few kazillion "additives" used - herbs - as mentioned. need to be fresh for this application - jamming a dried flake of thyme under yer' gum isn't my idea of nifty.

"ordinary' onions, scallions, shallots, leeks - all bring their own twist.
bit of celeriac - Italian classic!

as for the mushrooms proper, you can do raw-to-dang-near-crispy-fried.
how mushrooms are cooked does affect not only the mouth feel but also taste.

one disagreement from the above ideas, I would not be mincing mushrooms into smithereens.

my personal favorite is morels. they are very seasonal, may not ever appear in your market, and for this kind of dish must be fresh, not dried. dried mushrooms are great for making a mushroom liquor for flavoring base, but the texture of reconstituted dried mushrooms is really awful, imho.

next on my list would be porcini, followed by crimini, and at desperate last the white button. which is not to say the humble white button does not do a fine job.

and don't get hung up on "must be Italian" - coupla' black olives sliced thin - going Greek.
fresh dill - go Nordic.

fresh ground black pepper, right....? none of that out of the shaker stuff.

wine, citrus juices, shot of jack. all that stuff works.

I do that kind of stuff all the time - but don't ask for a recipe because I do it all 'on the fly' - got chives? in they go, lonely looking orange/pomegranate,,,,. don't measure, not picky, check the fridge and see what's there.

the one tip I can offer is don't "overboard" on a strong flavor. I sniff/smell the pan as I'm going along and sniff anything I'm thinking about tossing in. it the smells don't work, taste likely won't either.....

oh, and a nice fresh grated cheese to sprinkle. get a grater, invest in a real Parmesan wedge - not the sawdust in the green can. yeah, it makes a difference (g)

good luck!
Wow!!! :wave: Excellent points... every one of them! :tiphat: You really *get* what I am trying to achieve here! :a1:

This write-up, along with the assorted hints and ideas from the other recipes, will be my bible going forward with this! :chef: :readytoeat:

Now I am really excited!!! :applause: :applause: :applause:

Take care,
Tom
 

Gramps

New member
If she's THAT anti-mushroom, frankly I wouldn't bother with a mushroom sauce. Who wants to watch someone pick out all the mushrooms - lol!!

Just make or purchase an Alfredo or Alfredo-type cream sauce. That would go perfectly with your ravioli - I've used it myself for that type/flavor of pasta. And although I've never tried it myself, you could most likely just make the sauce from my Stroganoff recipe without using/adding any of the mushrooms. It would most likely be just as tasty. As a plus, you could control the amount of salt - many of the commercially-prepared cream sauces can be overly salty.
It is not always easy having a lady friend who does not like mushrooms when I love them so much. But just to be clear, she does not dislike the flavor of mushrooms... she only dislikes the texture (if that makes any sense!). She gives a long explanation going back to her youth why she is that way... and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to change her attitude. Haven't tried psychiatric treatments or hypnosis yet, but maybe we should! ;)

As per my comments above, we really aren't looking for this one to be an alfredo sauce or anything similar. Creamy, thick and cheesy isn't what we are looking for this time around. In fact, if it has no cheese in it at all... other than perhaps a sprinkling of grated Parmesan or Asiago on top... that would be pretty much ideal.

I know what I want... but I'm not always that good at explaining it. :twak:

Take care,
Tom
 
K

Kimchee

Guest
What I've done is removed the finished mushrooms, added a can of diced maters,
enough tomato paste to thicken, white wine, salt, basil, parsley and chicken stock,
then let that simmer down and reduce. Added the mushrooms back in, adjusted
for taste and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese as my mushroom sauce.
 
Ahh - but the OP specifically said NO TOMATOES; that he's tired of tomato-based pasta sauces. Go back & read the original post.
 
K

Kimchee

Guest
My bad, sorry. mea culpa mea culpa.
Leave out the tomato, do pesto of some sort instead.
 
LOL!!!! Double faux-pas Kimmchee - the original post requests no "pesto" sauces either.

Maybe you should go back & actually read the OP before going further - lol!
 

Gramps

New member
Well, there's no cheese in my "Mushroom Stroganoff" sauce. Like I said before - just leave out the mushrooms & make the sauce.
Oh no no no! :no: The mushrooms are the one things I absolutely must have in my mushroom sauce! :biggrin: Somehow, the point of my original post has been lost! :laugh: My lady friend will pick them all out of her serving, but that is HER problem, not mine. :yum:

Bought every kind of mushroom listed in this thread today... and just about every other ingredient mentioned as well. :chef:

This is going to be fun!!! :clap:

Take care,
Tom
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
i only see a benefit here, gramps: the mushrooms she picks from her sauce can then be called yours.
 
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