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Nigella Lawson's Linguine With Lemon, Garlic & Thyme Mushrooms

August 13, 2013
50 Reviews

Test Kitchen-Approved

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). —Genius Recipes

Serves: 4 to 6
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups (8 ounces) finely sliced cremini or button mushrooms
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Maldon or kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme stripped to give 1 teaspoon leaves
  • 1 pound linguine or other pasta shape
  • 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped, to give 1/2 cup
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, to taste (up to 3 tablespoons)
  • 1 pinch Freshly ground black pepper
In This Recipe

Directions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Toss everything together well, and then add the parsley, cheese, and pepper before tossing again. Eat with joy in your heart.

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Reviews (50) Questions (0)

50 Reviews

Marissa S. January 20, 2019
OBSESSED with this pasta. The only thing we did really differently was to slightly heat the cremini mushrooms in a skillet to get the raw taste out. Don't overcook, just heat them enough so they don't all look dry and raw (no oil necessary in the pan). Add to the bowl, mix everything up with hot pasta noodles and then toss with a lot of good quality freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Made this 3 times in the last month. Sooooooooo good.
 
Tinab99 January 2, 2019
I am addicted to this delicious but so simple to prepare pasta. Use Cremini mushrooms for more pronounced flavor. I’ve never had the parsley on hand to make it and still loved it.
 
michelle October 30, 2018
Love, love, love this. I added some sliced grilled chicken because we had unexpected guests and i needed to stretch it. It’s really good either way.
 
mungo October 14, 2018
Just made this again, and it's so delicious and easy. Just the thing for when you're feeling in a bit of a rut with food/cooking. I usually make adjustments to the ingredients based on what I have on hand, and it always comes out well. But anyone who is cooking the mushrooms is sort of missing the point.
 
Sydney August 27, 2018
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!
 
shortnsweet May 26, 2017
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.
 
John O. October 28, 2016
Don't change a thing when you make this! It's perfect as is and the flavors are simple and clean. Thanks Nigella!
 
Johnson C. October 25, 2016
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.
 
Donna H. September 13, 2016
I love how people say how great the recipe is "after" they change it completely...
 
Rhonda35 September 13, 2016
Even better is when they complain about it after changing things completely!
 
Chris P. August 16, 2016
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 :)
 
Ned August 13, 2016
I followed the recipe. Delicious. Not too lemony at all. I might add some toasted pine nuts next time.
 
Wes May 28, 2016
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!
 
pattyrat November 30, 2015
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.
 
Chef D. November 25, 2015
The pasta in the pic looks epic!
 
Cheryl September 8, 2015
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<br />
 
kasia S. April 20, 2017
That's a completely different recipe...
 
Robin August 12, 2015
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.
 
saluki August 10, 2015
I sauteed the mushrooms in a little bit of butter before marinating..... they were delicious. Great recipe....
 
cindy April 2, 2015
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. <br />
 
Transcendancing March 30, 2015
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.
 
nola2chi March 24, 2015
mmmmmm<br />