I find the way that we eat pasta can be very divisive. Some enjoy lots of ‘stuff’ while others prefer the pasta itself to be the star. I love mushrooms and the trays of mixed mushrooms that better retailers now stock are a great source of variety without the wastage and expense that comes with buying many different punnets. I always think mushrooms benefit from a little lemon.


INGREDIENTS

(Serves 4)

• 400g dried fusilli — the curly one

• 30g butter

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 2 tsp crushed garlic

• 100g button mushrooms, cut into quarters

• 1 tray mixed mushrooms — or 250g other mushrooms

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 lemon, rind and juice

• 100g cream cheese

• 2 tsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped

METHOD

Simmer the fusilli in lots of salted water until just tender — about 10 minutes. Meanwhile to make the sauce heat the butter and oil in a frypan and add the onion. Cook over a moderate heat until it is lightly coloured. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Next add the button mushrooms and cook a minute longer. Now we want to add the other mushrooms in their order of delicacy — if you have shiitake mushrooms, slice and add them next. You may need to increase the heat as your pan fills. Continue to add mushrooms until all are in the pan. Season well. Remove from the heat and fold through the lemon, cream cheese and parsley. Drain the pasta and fold that through also. If the mixture looks a little dry add a splash of the pasta water.

 

© The West Australian