Creamy One-Pot Mushroom and Leek Pasta

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Updated December 9, 2020

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(6,874)
Comments
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This deeply satisfying pasta, brimming with rich umami, is made in just one pot, an approach that bolsters its flavors. Once the leek and mushrooms are caramelized and sticking to the pot, they’re deglazed to lift all the extra depth from the bottom of the pan. (Use any liquid for deglazing, whether water, wine, stock, vinegar or tomato juice.) This recipe leaves the choice of mushrooms up to you: Cremini and shiitake are a good combination, but you could even use rehydrated porcinis. If you are craving greens to cut through the richness, stir a few handfuls of baby spinach into the pasta just before you turn off the heat.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 leek, white part only, finely sliced (about 5 ounces)

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 3 cups mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake or oyster, torn or sliced (about 6 ounces)

  • 1 lemon, halved

  • 1 pound short pasta, such as orecchiette, cavatappi, gemelli or penne

  • 4 cups vegetable stock

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 1 cup whole-milk ricotta

  • ½ to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

67 grams carbs; 30 milligrams cholesterol; 468 calories; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 823 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat a wide, deep 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high. When hot, add the olive oil and leeks, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until softened and lightly golden, 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the garlic and mushrooms. Cook, undisturbed, for 2 minutes, then stir and cook, undisturbed, until the mushrooms start to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan, another 2 to 3 minutes. (This allows the water from the mushrooms to evaporate, encouraging caramelization.) Add the juice of one lemon half to deglaze the pan and stir to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Add the pasta and stock; stir well. Cover with lid and cook on medium heat. Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it. (All pasta shapes and brands will have different cooking times. You want the pasta to be just tender.)

  4. Step 4

    Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and add the butter and parsley. Squeeze in the juice from the remaining lemon half and stir until butter is melted and dispersed. Season with salt and pepper.

  5. Step 5

    To serve, top with ricotta, red-pepper flakes (to taste) and more chopped parsley.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
6,874 user ratings
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Comments

lanz

Replace some stock with white wine Add garlic, add shallots Add zest of lemon Is fine without ricotta

A Waste Of Good Mushrooms

Cooked as instructed, the result was flavorless and starchy. I used orcchiette, and a mix of wild and commercial mushrooms. Seems the author was overly fixated on the "one pot" objective by trying to emulate one of the many tried and true "one pot" Italian pasta dishes but failed. Cooking the mushrooms separately them adding in the al dente pasta with a bit of the cooking water would produce a nice creamy sauce with better flavor result I think.

David

Whoever came up with the idea of adding white miso is a very savvy cook! When I first tasted the pasta after it finished boiling in the chicken stock (homemade, very tasty stock by the way), it was stunningly bland... I’m sure this was because the recipe doesn’t call for salt to be used prior to the absolute end of cooking. Even after deglazing with white wine, stock, & lemon, and integrating the butter and parsley, the flavor was just so-so. Mixed in 2 - 3 tbsp of white miso and YAHTZEE!!

Mega cook

I love this dish! I use less pasta, add kale or broccoli greens at the end to wilt with the rest. Never disappoints!

Lauren

Comments are correct and helpful here. Anything you can do to punch up this dish is worth doing. Season and taste more often Lemon zest Miso White wine Red pepper flakes Pork Chicken stock Shallot 2x Leek All great ways to punch it up and get more flavor while keeping it a one-pot dish. I also like to start with the mushrooms and cook those down a lot more than the recipe says. Then add aromatics.

ndnk

Doubled the mushrooms and leek. Used top quality ricotta. Added miso. Added asparagus.Deglazed with wine. — mushrooms always good this way. This dish was still bland and there was no save. In the end tomato sauce was added just so people would eat it.

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