Zucchini Mushroom Pasta
Description
This delicious Zucchini Mushroom Pasta is the ultimate vegetarian dinner recipe with loads of zucchini and mushrooms. It's a restaurant-quality recipe that anyone can easily make at home with 10 simple ingredients.
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Ingredients
- 8 ounces oyster, shiitake, or maitake mushrooms
- 7 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ears sweet corn, shucked and kernels cut from cob
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 12 ounces zucchini (about 1 large or 2 small) cut into ¼-inch thick half moons
- 4 ounces dry bucatini
- ½ cup ricotta cheese, divided
- ½ lemon, zested
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 475ºF (246ºC) with rack set in middle position.
- Toss 8 ounces mushrooms with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Roast mushrooms, rotating halfway through, until browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add corn (cut from 2 ears of corn) and season with salt; cook until vibrant in color, 6–8 minutes. Add 3 sliced cloves garlic and cook until starting to lightly toast, about 4 minutes, (add a splash of water if pan gets dry). Scrape corn into a bowl and set aside to cool.
- Add 2 teaspoons olive oil to now empty pan over medium-high heat. Add 12 ounces sliced zucchini and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and starting to brown, 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt and add 4 ounces pasta; cook until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water then drain and set pasta aside.
- Transfer ½ cup cooked corn to a blender along with ¼ cup pasta cooking water and 2 tablespoons ricotta; blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a small bowl, combine remaining ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons ricotta, grated zest of ½ a lemon, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes; season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Add cooked mushrooms (and all the crispy bits!) and cooked corn to pan with zucchini; stir to combine. Add cooked pasta and puréed corn sauce and gently toss to combine. Stir in half the basil and juice of half a lemon. Transfer to a serving bowl and dollop ricotta mixture over top. Sprinkle with basil and serve.
Notes
Corn: you can substitute fresh corn (cut from the cob) with frozen. For each ear of corn, use 1 cup corn kernels.
Deeply Roast Mushrooms: Take the time to get a nice, even browning on your roasted mushrooms. They'll be the perfect flavor and texture when they're mixed into the pasta. Here are some other key tips on how to cook mushrooms, and everything in between, too.
Use Dried Mushrooms: If you've got dried mushrooms at home, simply rehydrate them in some hot water and use them in this pasta (skip the roasting). They're equally as delicious and have a great shelf life. You could even use a mix of fresh and dried. Check out our mushroom guide for a quick reference on the different types.
Don't Overcook Zucchini: Avoid overcooking the zucchini; it'll get watery, soggy and mushy, opposite of what we are going for here. Simply sauté until it's tender and starting to brown, then stop there.
Reserve Pasta Water: Don't skip this step! It's essential for building the velvety sauce, and it's great to have on hand once the pasta comes together if you feel it's a bit thick and needs to be thinned out.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 recipeCalories: 338kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 15gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 632mgFiber: 8gSugar: 6g
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