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🍝 Pasta & noodles

Buttered mushroom noodles

Simple mushroom magic with glossy little noodle ribbons

⏱️ Time estimate: about 20 minutes

Just-browned chanterelles, very good butter, parmesan, parsley, and black pepper come together in a silky sauce that clings to every noodle fold.

Buttered mushroom noodles in a shallow bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 large handful pappardelle
  • 3 tablespoons very good quality butter
  • 1/4 pound chanterelle mushrooms, trimmed and torn in half if large
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
  • Fresh black pepper
  • Flaky sea salt

Instructions

  1. Boil the pasta water. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it like the sea.
  2. Cook the mushrooms. In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the chanterelles and cook with a watchful eye, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mushrooms cook down and are lightly browned but not burnt.
  3. Cook the pasta. Boil the pappardelle until just a tiny bit al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the salty cooking water before draining.
  4. Build the sauce. Add 1/3 cup pasta water to the mushrooms and let it bubble and emulsify so the butter and starch become one glossy sauce.
  5. Toss everything together. Add the pasta to the sauté pan and reduce the heat to low. Toss until the mushrooms and sauce coat every noodle. Add another large splash of pasta water and the Parmesan. Keep the heat gentle here so the cheese melts in instead of seizing. If needed, turn the stove off for this part. Toss until everything is loose, shiny, and well coated, adding more pasta water if it feels too thick.
  6. Finish and serve. Stir in the parsley, then plate in a deep bowl and top with more Parmesan, plenty of cracked black pepper, and flaky sea salt to taste. Eat right away.

This is one of those quiet little luxury pasta bowls where the butter really gets to show off.