Simple Mushroom Penne with Walnut Pesto
Some of you good people who are on this website right now are looking at this picture and just KNOWING.
You’re knowing that you and me and those buttery-soaked mushrooms on pasta with a heaping spoonful of flavor-packed earthy-vibed walnut pesto – all of us, we just belong to each other. Kumbaya forever.
Some of you good people, unfortunately, are not familiar with this kind of food bewitchery. You’ve chose not to be apart of Team Mushroom () and right now you’re looking at those lil ‘shrooms and you’re tempted to bolt straight for the hills – like the broccoli hills or something or something more regular. Actually, probably more like the no-vegetable hills. Your mouse is already moving up to that little red x because you think you don’t like mushr- WAIT STAHHPPP. I understand that mushrooms can seem a little bit weird, but plz.
Be rational with yourself.
These are not your average mushrooms.
We’re talking about a whole different beast: deep golden brown mushrooms that are bathing their little selves in a sizzling pan of high quality LAND O LAKES® European Style Super Premium Butter. Like I said: Deep. Golden. Brown. If there was ever a time to join Team Mushroom, that time would be now.
So we’ve officially made our way into September, which means it’s fall, right? Come onnn JUST LET ME.
September means a lot of things to a lot of people. Back to school, busy season at work, mentally gearing up for the H word – what? don’t tell me you haven’t thought about the holidays yet. You know who you are – I’m talking to my twins out there who have paper chains going for the number of days until we can listen to Christmas music. When are you allowed to start? I’m a two-weeks-before-Thanksgiving kind of girl. Bjork finds ways to cope.
Most importantly, what this most lovely time of year means to me is earthy, rich, fall comfort food dishes like this are my 24/7/365. Wait, that doesn’t work. Just subtract the number of days from, like, go back and count the months before, er, but start in… ugh. You know what I mean.
I mean Simple Mushroom Penne with Walnut Pesto all day every day.
Would someone please put an soft, runny poached egg on this and eat it for breakfast so that we can truly, honestly, legitimately say this is an all day every day thing? You would basically be the winner of life.
You guys, I have some good news about the short ingredient list here. With an emphasis on the butter. WHAT ELSE IS NEW.
LAND O LAKES® European Style Super Premium Butter (which you can buy at just about any mainstream grocery store ) is an extremely delicious butter that’s made with sweet cream. Angels singing, right? One of the ways it stands out from traditional butter is the fact that it has a higher fat content – 82% if you want to get specific – which means you get an extremely rich flavor and an extra-creamy texture and the butter in your recipes just shines.
If cooking with real butter is your thing (shout out to fall and winter approaching), check out the ideas on the LAND O LAKES® European Style Super Premium Butter Pinterest board.
When you’re only working with three main ingredients – in this case, pasta, mushrooms, and that beautiful, luscious butter – you better make sure that each of those ingredients is top of the line in terms of quality and taste. Because you only get THREE.
And there is nothing more wonderful for your food-loving senses than a simple, minimalist ingredient combination where every flavor and texture just shines.
PLZ BE A MUSHROOM LUVR. This is happening. Right now.
Author: Pinch of Yum Serves: 4-6, depending on how hungry you are!
Ingredients For the Pasta
- 8 ounces penne pasta (I like to use whole wheat)
- 4 tablespoons LAND O LAKES® European Style Super Premium Butter
- 16 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
- salt, pepper, and fresh parsley for topping
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1½ cups packed greens (spinach, basil, parsley, anything you like - but keep some basil for a more traditional pesto flavor)
- ½ to ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the penne pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Toast the walnuts in a small sauté pan over low heat with no butter or oil - stir and shake the pan until the walnuts are fragrant and toasty (about 5 minutes). In a food processor, combine all the ingredients for the walnut pesto and pulse until mostly smooth.
- Heat the butter over medium heat in a wide skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute for 8-10 minutes, until the mushrooms are a deep golden brown. Add the penne pasta to the pan and stir to combine, adding Parmesan, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley or other herbs to taste.
- Divide the pasta between 4-6 bowls and top with a generous spoonful of the walnut pesto OR stir the walnut pesto directly into the pasta.
Notes Nutrition is for 6 servings including pesto.
This recipe is high in fat primarily because of the walnuts, butter, and Parmesan cheese. If you're looking to lighten it up a little bit, I'd start by omitting the Parmesan cheese.
3.3.3077
Have you guys seen the European Style Butter in stores yet? Keep your eyes peeled.
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