Pantry Pasta with Goat Cheese, Mushrooms, and Leeks
This has become my go-to pasta dish!
Bucatini with Goat Cheese, Mushrooms, and Leeks
Time: 15 mins | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: Weeknight dinner
This is a really easy and delicious way to cook pasta! The mushrooms get crispy, the leeks get soft and caramelized, and the goat cheese adds a punchy freshness. It all comes together with parmesan and pasta water, a truly perfect combination. You can use any type of pasta—this is really just a pantry pasta base, and I was excited to find bucatini in, well, my pantry, so I came up with this! Pantry pasta is a key thing to know how to make when you’re cooking for one person, and I use this recipe as a base. It’s easy and delicious and I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients:
A handful of bucatini
1 leek, whites and light greens chopped
Maitake mushrooms (or any mushroom you prefer)
Goat cheese
Parmesan
Method:
Set water to boil, and cook the pasta.
Wash the mushrooms. Then heat some butter and a touch of olive oil a pan, and add the mushrooms. Cook them on one side, pressing down to release all their moisture. Flip when the first side is lightly browned and crispy, add salt and pepper, then set aside.
Add some more butter to the pan, then add in the leeks. Cook them on medium heat until they’re softened and starting to caramelize.
When the pasta is cooked, add it directly to the hot pan (don’t get rid of the water!).
Add about 1/4 cup of the leftover pasta water to the pan, and grate parmesan directly in. On very low heat, stir around until everything comes together, adding more water and parmesan as needed.
Transfer to a bowl. Add the mushrooms on top, then add a little more freshly grated parmesan, and dollops of goat cheese all around.