This healthy pasta dish tastes like a restaurant-style indulgence.
Sometimes the key to a great dish is to choose ingredients grown in the same region, pair them together, and taste how wonderfully they complement one another. Our Penne with Porcini Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes is a perfect example of a Mediterranean pasta recipe that combines foods that have been working in perfect harmony for centuries. The combination of porcini mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil showcases the flavors of the Mediterranean, specifically Italy, in one spectacularly simple and delicious dish.
This pasta is made healthier with the use of whole wheat penne, which contains more nutrients and fiber than processed white pasta. Porcini mushrooms, those meaty fungi similar in flavor and texture to Portobella mushrooms, have anti-inflammatory properties. Tomatoes, of course, are antioxidant-rich superfoods containing lycopene, which fights free radicals and the damage they cause. Ad this recipe shows exactly how to layer flavor after bold flavor in a healthy way, by cooking the vegetables in extra virgin olive oil, adding garlic and truffle oil, and using that protein-rich cheese, parmigiano reggiano. Each of these ingredients is whole, clean, and healthful, proving that you don’t need refined and processed ingredients to add taste!
This dish comes together quickly, so you can feel free to whip it up on a weeknight. Or prepare it for a dinner party, as its impressive ingredients and flavors will be sure to impress your guests. If you’d like to experiment by adding another veggie to the mix, go for it! Let us know your results in the comments!
Penne with Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 12 ounces whole-wheat penne (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 2 teaspoons truffle oil optional
- 1/4 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in a container with water overnight. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze out the excess liquid. Save the water where they were soaked.
- If using fresh porcini, take away the dirt with a brush, with a damp cloth or under the tap quickly. Fill up a saucepan with water then add the porcini. Bring to a boil then transfer the porcini in a bowl. save the water where they were boiled.
- In another saucepan, boil some water to cook the pasta.
- While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce. Over medium heat, in a big saucepan with extra virgin olive oil, sautè the garlic and onions until golden then discard the garlic.
- Add the tomatoes then cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the porcini then cook for another 3 minutes
- Pour the wine then put up the heat to high. Cook for another 5 minutes then lower the heat to medium.
- Add some of the water where you soaked or boiled the porcini.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn off the fire when the sauce has thickened up a bit. Cover.
- When the water for cooking the pasta has boiled, add some salt then add the pasta. Cook following the number of minutes indicated in the package.
- Turn on the heat again where you are cooking the sauce then transfer the pasta to the saucepan of the sauce. Mix well then sprinkle with the parsley and Parmesan. Drizzle with the truffle oil.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
Have you made this recipe?
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