Mushroom Stroganoff Pasta
Penne with deeply seared white button mushrooms, wine-deglazed fond, and natilla casera finish.
Ingredients
- 200 gpenne pasta
- 300 gwhite button mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 150 mlwhite sauce (béchamel or cream sauce)
- 4 tbspnatilla casera (or sour cream / crème fraîche)
- 120 mldry white wine
- 60 mlbeef or chicken stock
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 4 clovesgarlic, minced
- 2 tbspbutter
- 1 tspworcestershire sauce
- 3/4 tspsmoked paprika
- 1/2 tspwhite wine vinegar (add to taste — natilla is already tangy)
- 1 pinchfreshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tbspfresh parsley, chopped (to finish)
- 120 mlpasta water, reserved
- 1 pinchsalt and black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Cook penne in heavily salted water until just under al dente — it will finish in the sauce. Reserve 120ml pasta water before draining.
- 2
Melt butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add onion with a pinch of salt. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft, translucent, and just starting to go golden. Do not rush this.
10:00 - 3
Add garlic and smoked paprika to the onion. Stir and cook 90 seconds until fragrant and the paprika starts to toast. Push everything to the edges of the pan.
- 4
Crank heat to high. Add mushrooms to the center of the pan in a single layer — do not stir. Let them sear 3-4 minutes until deeply browned. Flip and sear the other side. Salt only after browning. Cook in batches if needed. Once done, combine with the onion mixture.
04:00 - 5
Pour in white wine. It will sizzle hard — good. Scrape up all the fond from the bottom. Reduce until the wine is nearly gone, about 3-4 minutes. The pan should look almost dry.
04:00 - 6
Add white sauce, stock, and worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 3-4 minutes until slightly thickened. If too thick, loosen with pasta water a splash at a time.
04:00 - 7
Pull off heat. Stir in natilla casera, a pinch of nutmeg, and white wine vinegar. Taste and adjust — more worcestershire for depth, more vinegar for brightness, salt and pepper to taste. The vinegar should be background, not detectable.
- 8
Add drained penne directly to the pan. Toss to coat, adding pasta water as needed to loosen. The sauce should cling to the pasta, not pool. Plate and finish with fresh parsley and a heavy crack of black pepper.
Notes
The wine reduction and onion base are what separate this from a basic cream mushroom pasta — don't skip either. Natilla is slightly tangier than sour cream. Taste before adding the vinegar; you may need less or none. Mushroom sear is non-negotiable: wet, gray mushrooms will flatten the whole dish. Hot pan, single layer, no stirring.
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