Linguine with Mushrooms & Garlic

Six ingredients. No cream, no cheese in the sauce, no filler. Just linguine tossed with a full pound of mushrooms sauteed in butter with a generous amount of sliced garlic, finished with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

The secret is cooking the mushrooms until they start to dry out. Most people pull them too early, when they’re still wet and steaming. Push past that stage until the moisture evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown and concentrate in flavor. That’s when they turn savory and almost meaty.

The butter-and-olive-oil combination gives you the best of both: butter’s richness and the fruity, peppery finish of good olive oil. Together they coat every strand of linguine in a glossy, garlicky sauce.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t crowd the mushrooms in the pan. If they’re piled on top of each other, they steam instead of saute. Work in batches if your skillet isn’t big enough.
• Slice the garlic, don’t mince it. Sliced garlic mellows in the butter without burning as quickly as minced.
• Toss the hot pasta with the mushroom mixture immediately after draining. The residual starch on the noodles helps the butter and oil emulsify into a clinging sauce.

Variations

• Use a mix of mushroom varieties (cremini, shiitake, oyster) for more depth and texture.
• Add a splash of white wine to the pan after the mushrooms brown for a quick pan sauce.
• Finish with a handful of chopped fresh parsley and shaved Parmesan at the table.