Ingredients Needed?
Pasta—Spaghetti or Liguanni are the best for this recipe; however, if you have some pasta left in the corner of the pantry, feel free to use it. Mushroom—I mostly use button or baby bella mushrooms. I have always used one of them because they are mild, and I’m not too fond of mushrooms that overpower caramelized onion. Onion- I have used shallots in this recipe. However, white onion is perfect and readily available. Butter and Cream- Feel free to use any vegan alternative butter and cream of your choice. You can always use olive oil, but caramelized onion made in olive oil doesn’t appeal to me very much. However, it depends on personal preference. Chili oil/Chili flakes/Pepper flakes, salt, crushed black pepper, and tons of minced garlic. For garnish, parsley or your favorite herb.
Why do we love this pasta?
This pasta recipe takes just a few ingredients. It’s delicious and easily adaptable to our taste buds. Substitutions are pretty straightforward.
How to cook?
This pasta dish has a robust flavor of caramelized onion /shallots, minced garlic, and mushrooms. Cooking on a slow flame ensures that the caramelized onion’s sweetness, minced garlic’s sharpness, and sauteed mushroom’s umami flavors give this pasta dish a delectable taste. The cream (vegan or regular)gives the dish a lovely creamy texture. Red pepper flakes or chili oil create a spicy hint to the taste. I am sure after trying this pasta recipe just once, it will be your favorite.
How to caramelize the onion perfectly,
Heat a large, heavy bottom pan with butter/vegan butter. Add finely sliced onion and saute, then cook on slow to medium flame till they look soft and light brown. The idea is to get a light brown color and not burn them, as burned onions leave a bad taste in the mouth. If you think the vegetables are sticking to the bottom of the pan or getting darker in color, you can continuously deglaze the pan with pasta water during the cooking process. However, make sure not to add too much water. Adding two spoons at a time is a great idea.
When to add garlic and Mushroom?
I like to cook everything together, adding minced garlic while cooking onions. After the onion cooks through, I love to add mushrooms. I keep my mushrooms small, and because of that, they cook very quickly.
Adding Pasta, cream and seasoning,
We add salt and crushed pepper while cooking the onion, garlic, and mushrooms. We add minimal salt because we use salt in the water while boiling the pasta, and later, we use this pasta water to thicken the sauce. Red Pepper Flakes /chili oil and Italian Seasoning are used with the cream at the end. Parsley can be used for garnish if desired. Enjoy with a slice of crusty bread or just like that.
Some of my popular pasta recipes,
Rigatoni Tomato Cream Pasta Lemon Basil Pesto Pasta Sun-dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Garlic Tomato-Cream Pasta
