Cheesy and Creamy Paccheri with Sautéed Mushrooms and Shallots
Would you believe this creamy paccheri pasta gets its rich and delicious flavors from only three ingredients? That’s right! Thin mushrooms slices and shallots are sautéed only with garlic, thyme and a bit of red wine to make the base for this pasta that swims in a creamy cheese sauce made with white cheddar, Asiago and coconut milk. No heavy cream in here. This is truly a whatever-day-is-today dish. It’s made in 25 minutes so it’s perfect for weeknight dinner but it’s still rich and decadent to be the perfect dish to a date night in!
I used paccheri here, which is also known as schiaffoni, but you can use any pasta of your choice. Penne, rigatoni or farfalle will be great in here, as well as any long strong pasta such as spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine. And maybe you know by now that I’m kind of obsessed with the combination of white cheddar and Parmesan or Asiago, but you may use Gruyere instead of the white cheddar and Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano or even Manchego instead of Parmesan. See? Sure you have some of these cheeses already in your fridge! You will see this pasta has a lot of liquid when you finish cooking it, but this is key in having a creamy sauce until the last bite of this pasta dish.
Let me tell you how easy and quick I usually put this king of pastas together:
How to make this 30-minute super creamy pasta
I like to start by bringing some water to boil for the pasta.
While the water is heating, I rinse, wipe and slice the mushrooms, cut the shallots and trim some of the thyme sprigs.
I add salt to the water and add the pasta . Stir for about 10 seconds to prevent pasta sticking to the bottom, then remember to move everything around during the cooking process to prevent sticking.
I heated olive oil in a skillet and sautéed the mushrooms and shallots. I removed them from the skillet and added some beef stock, some pasta water and coconut milk. I finally added the cheeses and saw how that liquid turned into pure cheese gold!
Then I just transferred the pasta to the skillet and finished cooking the pasta in the sauce. Again, keep moving everything so the pasta doesn’t get stuck in the bottom.
I finished everything by incorporating the mushrooms and shallots, adding lots of extra thyme and sprinkling some chopped pistachios, more Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper. That’s all my folks!
This is a creamy simple pasta dish that you need to make soon! You may leave out the mushrooms or swap shallots for onion slices. Tell me in the comments how your own version of this pasta will be!
Cheesy and Creamy Paccheri with Sautéed Mushrooms and Shallots
Ingredients
◯ Fine sea salt - 1 TBSP + ¼ TSP and a few pinches to adjust taste
◯ Paccheri (see notes above for other pasta alternatives) - 8 to 12 ounces
◯ Extra virgin olive oil - 3 to 4 TBSP
◯ Cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced - 2 cups
◯ Garlic paste or ground - ½ Tsp
◯ Medium shallots - 4, cut transversally
◯ Red wine - 1 ½ TBSP
◯ Freshly ground pepper - a few sprinkles
◯ Thyme leaves - leaves from 7 to 8 sprigs
◯ Beef stock (optional, you may use vegetable stock or
more pasta water) - ½ cup
◯ Pasta water - about 4 large cooking spoons
◯ Coconut milk - 1 cup
◯ White Cheddar, grounded - ¾ cup
◯ Parmesan, grounded - ¾ cup, divide
◯ Chopped pistachios to serve (optional) - about ⅓ cup
Details
Yield:
2 large portions or 4 medium portions
Total time:
30 minutes Active time - 20 minutes
Equipment:
large pot and large skillet
Steps
To make the creamy pasta dish: In a large pot bring about 3 ½ cups of water to boil over medium high heat. When the water is rapidly boiling add the one tablespoon of salt and stir. Add the pasta and stir for a few seconds to prevent pasta sticking to the bottom of the pan.
While the pasta is cooking, heat over medium high heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil on a large skillet (as soon as the oil starts to look translucent it’s ready). Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with half of the ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt. Toss constantly, until all the mushrooms look shiny and covered with the oil, about two to three minutes. Add the garlic, tossing it not directly to the skillet but on top of a bunch of mushrooms together. Toss again for 30 seconds. Add the shallots and sprinkle a bit of more of salt. Toss until translucent, one or two minutes. Pour the 1 ½ tablespoon of red wine and toss until evaporated, just a bit more than 30 seconds. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper and the thyme leaves. Incorporate everything well. Remove skillet from heat and using a slotted large spoon remove everything from skillet. If there’s too much liquid in the skillet or oil looks too burned, discard it and drizzle a bit more of olive oil over the skillet.
When it’s a bit heated add the beef stock, and using a large cooking spoon or ladle transfer about four spoons of the pasta water to the skillet. Add the coconut milk and cook for about one minute to incorporate everything. Add the ¾ cup of white cheddar and ½ cup of Parmesan and using a hand whisk mix well until the cheeses have melted into the sauce. Move frequently as well to prevent cheeses sticking to the bottom of the pan.
When the pasta is about 2 minutes from being fully cooked (about 14 minutes into cooking) transfer it to the skillet with a slotted large spoon or rounded spatula, or drain it using a large colander. Mix until pasta is coated with sauce. Cook for about two minutes, moving frequently, until the liquid looks thicker (if you feel liquid is still too thin you may cook for an extra minute or add more cheeses, especially the cheddar, but remember this pasta will have a lot of liquid). Bring back the mushrooms and shallots and mix once more. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle some chopped pistachios, freshly ground pepper and extra Parmesan cheese if desired for extra texture and deliciousness.
