Ziti with Portobello Mushrooms

FryBoy

New member
I found this recipe when going through some old computer files from 1996. I have no idea where I got it, but I remember that it's VERY GOOD! It calls for ziti, but penne would work well, too, or mostaccioli, etc. -- any thick, tubular pasta. A printable copy is attached.

ZITI WITH PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

3 onions, thinly sliced & quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
¾ teaspoon salt, divided, plus extra as needed
freshly ground pepper to taste
½ teaspoon sugar
1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems discarded, caps cut into ¼-inch slices
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
12 ounces ziti
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra if desired

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ tablespoon butter in 10-inch skillet over
medium-high heat.

2. Add onions, ½ teaspoon salt, and sugar; cook, stirring frequently, until well
browned (about 20 to 30 minutes); transfer to bowl and set aside.

3. In the same pan used for the onions, melt remaining ½ tablespoon butter in
½ tablespoon olive oil; add mushroom slices plus ¼ teaspoon salt; cook
over moderate heat until tender and browned (about 8 minutes).

4. Return the cooked onions to the pan and add chopped parsley.

5. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

6. In the meantime, bring 5 to 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, adding 2 to 3
tablespoons of salt when the water is hot.

7. When the sauce is about ready, add the ziti to the boiling salted water and cook
until done (about 12 minutes).

8. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.

9. Mix the cooked pasta with ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, ½ tablespoon olive oil,
crumbled goat cheese, 1½ tablespoons Parmesan, and the onion-mushroom
mixture. Add more pasta water if needed.

Serve immediately with additional Parmesan if desired.
 

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chowhound

New member
Sounds very good. And the ingredients aren't too "exotic" for me and my area.
And that puts it on my to-do list.
Thanks
 

homecook

New member
Thanks Fry!!

I've got all the ingredients already. Sounds like a great quick meal to have in this heat. I may give it a go tomorrow. Stay tuned! LOL
 

FryBoy

New member
Sounds very good. And the ingredients aren't too "exotic" for me and my area.
And that puts it on my to-do list.
Thanks
Let me tell ya, the food I ate in Italy -- including at very expensive inns and fancy restaurants in Tuscany, Rome, Venice, and Florence -- was NOT very exotic. It was simple, well prepared, and pretty basic -- but damn good! Like this one.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Whoa! That looks like a fantastic side dish and/or a wonderful pan of stuff to take to a potluck!

Great, Doug!

Lee
 

FryBoy

New member
Whoa! That looks like a fantastic side dish and/or a wonderful pan of stuff to take to a potluck!

Great, Doug!

Lee
Actually, it's intended as a main course -- with the cheeses and mushrooms, it's a little heavy for a side dish, IMHO.
 

homecook

New member
This was awesome!!! A must try.....
 

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chowhound

New member
Nice.
This recipe reminded me of Jeekin's penne, peas, sausage and mascarpone dish, well, except the ingredients are different (lol). But basically, pasta with a few ingredients and a good melted cheese sauce, but not too saucy. And now that I see it...
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
That looks awesome HC! I've so got to try this! Thanks for the recipe FryBoy, and the awesome pics HC!! :clap:
 

homecook

New member
What the heck are the green things? There ain't no green things in this! Except parsley, and if that's parsley, it's scary. Or is it asparagus?


Whoops.........sorry!! :D Yes, I did add asparagus. Cuz I like it. lol I forgot to put the parsley in that I picked from the garden.

This was really outstanding Fry! DH had two helpings!
 

chowhound

New member
Here's my take on this Doug.
No goat cheese at the store, so I used feta. And no Italian parsley either, so I used curley. And I could have sworn I had some penne at home, but all I had were a couple boxes of rigatoni. I would have preferred a slightly smaller pasta and should have boughten the ziti had I known. Nonetheless, it was very tasty. Some day I will hold truer to the original recipe, but I enjoyed making and eating this. As you can see, all of the feta didn't quite melt by the time I had to snap a pic and dig in :tongue:
 

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FryBoy

New member
Looks good to me! I think this is one of those recipes that lends itself to variation and still produces good results. I mean, pasta and mushrooms -- ho could you ruin it?

I think a little Marsala or Sherry might be a good addition.
 

chowhound

New member
Thanks Doug!
Yeah, as I was mixing in the pasta water and incorporating everything I was thinking, this is the sauce? But then anything else might have taken away from the great taste of the portobellos and the cheeses. I liked it as is. And goat cheese is on my grocery list when I make it in to a big store. I've never had goat cheese and from what I have read it has a slight tart flavor. Looking forward to trying it and making this again.
Although I'll be eating last night's for the next couple days (lol). And I even scaled it down some.
 
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