Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Nigella's Pasta with All Kinds of Stuff

Pierce over at Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor is on a Nigella kick and is methodically going through Nigella Express. When I initially reviewed the book this pasta dish, called Linguine with Lemon Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms, caught my eye, and after reading Pierce's post about it, I decided to make it.

On a related note, my great friend Karen just returned from a trip to the UK, where she came across this thyme-y little tidbit. Herbs have been known to have many benefits, but if you ever get swollen testicles, please rub them with thyme and let me know how that goes, will ya?

OK, onto the recipe. This was done and on the table in about 20 minutes.

Pasta with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme Mushrooms, Nigella Express page 291, adapted by me

225g mushrooms, sliced (I didn't measure, I just used about 8 large mushrooms)
50mL olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 clove of garlic, crushed or grated
zest & juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp thyme
1lb pasta
2 - 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

1. Slice mushrooms finely, and put in a bowl with the oil, salt, garlic, lemon juice & zest, and thyme.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain loosely, retaining some water (I retained about 1/2 cup) and return to pot . Put the mushroom mixture into the pasta. Add cheese, salt & pepper, and serve.

This was OK. As a meal, I found it a tad unsatisfying because there wasn't much to it and it was a bit plain. The second night I had it, I served it with some sauteed shrimp to add some protein to the meal, and I plan on serving the rest as a side dish with an upcoming chicken meal. This was very simple to make, though, and I loved the light dressing on the mushrooms. As Nigella says in the cookbook, you can serve the mushrooms as a salad and I think that's a fantastic idea.

Thanks for the inspiration, Pierce!

12 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A nice pasta dish!

Cheers,

Rosa

Tina said...

Glad you tried it but I agree, it wasn't the very best of her recipes. It was one that I felt, "That was good but I won't make it a regular" if you know what I mean.

Thanks for the thyme tidbit!

Cathy said...

Doubt I'll ever have the testicle problem, but handy to know. I will impart this wisdom at my weekly managers meeting tomorrow!!

Wandering Coyote said...

Pierce: I think it'll make a fine side dish, like I'm going to have it tonight. Some people just like piles of noodles...I'm not one of them. I like a bit of substance.

Cathy: Hahaha! Let me know what the managers think, eh?

Unknown said...

I personally love lemon & thyme together, but I have never tried mushrooms. They just don't seem that appetizing to me.

Joie de vivre said...

For some reason, Nigella is just not that popular in the states. Why is that? Everything I see reviewed by her looks fabulous!

Anonymous said...

This sounds really good! Can't get much easier than that. I agree with you that it probably needs some protein to make it more substantial. Nice tip on the additional use for thyme...never know when someone might find find it useful :)!

Donna-FFW said...

This looks like the mostperfect pasta dish. Gorgeous, love the simplicity, but bet its so flavorful!

Elyse said...

Yum! This pasta dish sounds simple and delicious. A great weeknight meal!

Van Santos said...

First....

You have to give the "cooking pasta in saltwater" a try if you haven't done so before! It really changes the eating experience (well, for me).

Second...

Never had swollen testicles, but I'll report in if I ever do.

Wandering Coyote said...

Van: Oh, I always salt my water when I cook pasta. And...er...well...just let me know if the thyme works, OK?

Van Santos said...

You got it!

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