Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Goat Cheese and Mushroom Ziti

I had thought that picking a main course for my Chilean Olive Oil party would be difficult. I tend to be pretty carnivorous in my day to day eating, but I knew that I have a vegetarian in the house and I didn’t want to make her eat around things. My next move, when I apparently cut out meat, is to add in cheese and cream (why I do that one I have no idea) but I had some dairy allergies as well in the group so I looked through the recipes that the Chilean Olive Oil group sent me a little halfheartedly. What could possibly be in that list that didn’t include any type of meat or fish, or any cow milk or cream? Then, about mid way through the list, illuminated with bright lights from the heaven (no not really) it was there- Portobello Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pasta. The ingredients sounded perfect, and with an attendee running the BAA Half Marathon the following day- well it couldn’t have been more perfect for carbo loading!


I was pretty thrilled with this recipe- it was creamy and cheesy, decadent in all the right ways and then grounded with big chunks of earthy mushrooms. Freshly chopped parsley added a bright freshness to the dish and overall it was entrée deliciousness. Allergies and food preferences aside- I would gladly serve this again.

Goat Cheese and Mushroom Ziti

● Ingredients:

○ 5 tablespoons butter

○ 10 tablespoons CEVOO

○ 7 ½ onions, chopped

○ 2 ½ teaspoons salt

○ 1 ¼ sugar

○ 2 ½ pounds of portobello mushrooms, stems removed, caps halved, and cut

crosswise into ¼ inch slices

○ 10 tablespoons chopped parsley

○ ½ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

○ 1 ¾ pound ziti

○ 10 oz soft goat cheese

○ 10 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving


● Instructions:

○ In a large frying pan, melt half of the butter with half of the CEVOO over

moderate heat.

○ Add the onions, ½ of the salt, and the sugar, and cook, stirring frequently until the

onions are well browned. Remove from the pan.

○ In the same pan, melt the remaining butter and olive oil over moderate heat. Add

the mushrooms and ¼ of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and

brown.

○ Add the remaining onions, parsley, salt, and pepper.

○ Boil the ziti until just done. Put aside 1 ¾ cup of the pasta water, and drain.

○ Toss the ziti and a ½ of the water with the mushroom mixture, the remaining

CEVOO, goat cheese, and parmesan. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the

water.

○ Serve with additional parmesan.



2 comments:

Michelle Collins said...

Um, goat cheese, mushrooms and pasta = three of my favorite foods. This looks delicious!

Jen said...

You did a great job accommodating your guests needs! And it was delicious :)

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