Miso Mushroom and Leek Pasta
Published September 11, 2024
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
2 medium leeks, trimmed, white and light green parts thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 ½ pounds mushrooms (such as cremini, shiitake and/or oyster mushrooms), stemmed and sliced
1 pound short pasta, such as ziti or cavatappi
2 tablespoons white miso
¾ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing
1 tablespoon sherry or red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves and tender stems
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
100 grams carbs; 19 milligrams cholesterol; 672 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 17 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 879 milligrams sodium; 32 grams protein; 9 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
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or deep 12-inch skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add the leeks, season with salt and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. If they look dry at any point, add a drizzle of oil.
- Step 3
Add the mushrooms to the leeks, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until the mushrooms have browned, about 10 minutes. (If they are done before the pasta, then adjust the heat to low.)
- Step 4
When the water is ready, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Halfway through the cooking process, reserve 1 cup of water and let cool slightly on the counter. Drain the pasta in a colander and drizzle with olive oil if done before the mushrooms.
- Step 5
When both the mushrooms and pasta are done, stir the miso into the reserved pasta water until mostly dissolved. Add it to the Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat along with the pasta, cheese and vinegar, stirring vigorously until a cheesy sauce forms and coats the noodles, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with more vinegar if needed.
- Step 6
Garnish with the parsley and more cheese; serve with a final drizzle of oil.
Private Notes
Comments
For Mel M et al.: If you want dryer, crisper, crustier mushrooms without the wateriness, the general instruction these days is to cook them first--no salt!--until after they're cooked to your preferred shade of brown. See Ali Slagle's recipe for Sautéed Mushrooms on this website.
The flavours were great and it was very simple to put together. I love sherry vinegar! That being said, I felt like it was too much pasta and not enough “stuff” so next time I would do more vegetables and 3/4 lb of pasta.
How can I be the first note for this?! I'm honored. This is seriously one of the best pasta dishes we have ever had. Outstanding. I didn't have sherry vinegar, so used balsamic. Wowzer. Easy too.
Probably one of my favorite pasta recipes I’ve gotten from the NYT. Likes some others have mentioned, if you go for packaged white or baby bella mushrooms, they won’t brown because of the amount of water they hold. The leeks really cooked down and I felt the time they spent in the pan was too much. I’ll maybe keep them in for 2-3min before adding the mushrooms rather than the 5min the recipe recommends. If you’re looking to “hearty” up the dish, I enjoy added some ground up sausage to it and seasoned it with garlic and onion powder. 10/10 recommend!
I mixed in an egg at the end for some protein
I didn't hate it. i didn't love it. Im clearly in the minority here. I made this as written and found it underwhelming. I think there is a lot of variability in the salt department depending on how much you salt the pasta water, brand of miso, and parmesan cheese used.