Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta

The "cream" in this recipe comes from blending some of the mushrooms and broth together. This creates a thick, rich texture for the mushroom sauce without the saturated fat and calories of real cream.

Serves four as a main dish.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 ounces wild mushrooms; use as many different types of mushrooms as you like, such as shiitake, maitake, portobello, straw, enoki, oyster, chanterelles, cremini, morel, porcini, matsutake, etc.
• 1½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried ground rosemary (dried herb)
• 1 teaspoon dried ground thyme (dried herb)
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
• 12 ounces (dry weight) whole-grain pasta; any whole-grain pasta, such as wheat, spelt, buckwheat, kamut, or rye, will work well for this recipe

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to boil while preparing the other ingredients.
• Clean and coarsely chop the mushrooms.
• Mince the garlic and grate the fresh parmesan cheese.
• In a deep skillet or stove-top pan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium heat until the garlic just turns golden.
• Add low-sodium vegetable broth and mushrooms; return mixture to a simmer (low boil).
• Add rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and half of the parmesan cheese and stir.
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to instructions (usually 8 to 10 minutes).
• While pasta is cooking, stir mushroom mixture at a simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Very carefully (it's very hot!) remove approximately 1 cup of mushrooms and broth and place in a blender.
• Very carefully (it's very hot!) blend the mushrooms and broth. Use a lid on the blender; place the lid lightly and lift several times to vent the steam as you blend. This will prevent the lid from blowing off the blender due to steam buildup.
• Return blended mushrooms and broth to pan; stir to combine with mushroom mixture. Reduce heat until pasta is ready.
• Drain pasta and mix pasta and mushroom sauce together. Stir to combine ingredients and coat pasta.
• Dish onto plates and sprinkle each serving with a bit of the remaining parmesan cheese.
• Serve and enjoy!
  
  Serving suggestion: For a nice meal, serve with salad or cooked greens.

Per serving*: 458 calories; 73 grams of carbohydrates; 19 grams of protein; 10 grams of fat; 10 grams of fiber; 130 milligrams of potassium; 570 milligrams of sodium**

* Nutrient values are approximate and may vary slightly depending upon type of pasta and mushrooms used in the recipe.

** For a lower-sodium dish, omit parmesan cheese or use low-sodium parmesan cheese. Without parmesan cheese, the recipe provides 86 milligrams of sodium per serving.

If you are having trouble eating well because of cancer or its treatment, please see our information Recipes for High-Calorie Eating. If you are having trouble eating well or have questions about your specific nutrition needs, please discuss this with your health care team.