Nigella Lawson's Linguine With Lemon, Garlic & Thyme Mushrooms
Author Notes:
This is a pasta that doesn't expect hand-eye coordination or time management. It's just as happy being served hot, warm, even cold. And all you have to do -- other than boiling pasta -- is put items in a bowl and stir. In other words, it's what you serve when you want to throw a dinner party and come across and blithely, gloriously relaxed as Nigella Lawson always does. She says this is one of her proudest creations. But it's also a pasta that you can happily cook alone, and eat alone until you can't eat any more. Then pack up whatever's left -- for lunch, or tomorrow's dinner, or Saturday's picnic, or a cold midnight snack. Adapted slightly from Nigella Express (Hyperion, 2007).
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
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4
cups (8 ounces) finely sliced cremini or button mushrooms
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1/3
cup extra-virgin olive oil
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1
tablespoon Maldon or kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
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1
small clove garlic, minced
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1
lemon, zested and juiced
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4
sprigs fresh thyme stripped to give 1 teaspoon leaves
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1
pound linguine or other pasta shape
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1
bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped, to give 1/2 cup
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2
tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, to taste (up to 3 tablespoons)
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1
pinch Freshly ground black pepper
- Slice the mushrooms finely, and put them into a large bowl with the oil, salt, garlic, lemon juice and zest, and gorgeously scented thyme leaves.
- Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and drain loosely retaining some water. Quickly put the pasta into the bowl with the mushroom mixture.
- Toss everything together well, and then add the parsley, cheese, and pepper before tossing again. Eat with joy in your heart.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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I made this for dinner the other night, substituting thyme for fresh basil. It was a huge hit, especially with my mother. I think next time I won't add parsley though, because I don't like the texture. I absolutely recommend this recipe!
halved this, and it worked great. i also used baby bellas--i sauteed them with the garlic in the oil, then mixed them with the lemon juice, zest and oregano before adding the pasta. i also transferred the pasta to the bowl with tongs to make sure i got some pasta water in there--with the oil it made a lovely sauce. next time i'll try it with the mushrooms raw, but it seems like it will be delicious either way.
Don't change a thing when you make this! It's perfect as is and the flavors are simple and clean. Thanks Nigella!
A modest dish where the ingredients blend exceptionally well. Aroma from the herbs fills my mouth and lingers after finishing. The garlic gives a little sparkling spiciness to it. As with other Food52er here, I put the mushroom in the pan with olive oil to cook it a little first before tossing.
I love how people say how great the recipe is "after" they change it completely...
Even better is when they complain about it after changing things completely!
I have never had mushrooms this way and read all the comments and figured I would try it. This was SUCH a winner with my family which I honestly didn't expect for the amount of effort it took! I need 4-5 other meals like this :)
I followed the recipe. Delicious. Not too lemony at all. I might add some toasted pine nuts next time.
I made this a couple of weeks ago and used soba noodles since I served it as soon as it was done so it was room temperature. Making it again tonight!
Followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. I see others chose to cook the mushrooms first, but to me, the "genius" of the recipe is that you don't have to cook them. It was delicious! I'll be making this again.
The pasta in the pic looks epic!
Cheryl - It was great I made it for my daughters boyfriend he loves mushrooms my daughter doesn't then I added Caribbean style Adobo it contains toasted onion, garlic, sea salt, Mexican oregano, black pepper, and chiles. All those ingredients come in a savory package, Then topped with a little Havarti cheese for a butter taste. Cheryl
That's a completely different recipe...
Made this last night exactly according to the recipe although I used a small lemon to address the "too lemony" concerns from other reviews. Also sliced the mushrooms as thinly as possible. Wonderful! This is moving into my pasta rotation. May add shrimp next time and play with other herbs.
I sauteed the mushrooms in a little bit of butter before marinating..... they were delicious. Great recipe....
Sauteed the mushrooms, garlic and added a head of chopped broccoli in the butter and oil. Added 1/2 lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme and salt. Then added 12 oz of spinach pasta, parsley, parmesan and pepper - HEAVEN.
Fried the mushrooms but otherwise made as directed and it was delicious - will definitely make again. I do love fresh and light tasting pastas for the in-between weather.
mmmmmm
I did as StephabieRD did. I put all sauce ingredients together, added some butter and sautéed it in my wok on low heat for a few minutes just before the pasta was done. It was delicious. Will do it again
I also used less salt than recommended.
And I used portobello mushrooms
I used Baby Bella mushrooms, left out the thyme, substituted cilantro for parsley, and -- changes made based on what I already had on hand -- the results were still pretty darn decent. I imagine the result would have been even better had I used all the called-for ingredients. I definitely added the lemon juice to taste since all the commenters before warned that the recipe definitely called for too much.
I roasted the mushrooms before adding and halved the lemon juice. It was delicious!
Perfect, as usual, plus super easy too. Thanks!
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