I’ll admit I’m on a serious mushroom kick these days. It really is the craziest thing. What was once a feared and dare I say, food enemy of mine, is now a dear friend. Dramatic? Perhaps a little. But if you knew how much I really hated mushroom before, you too would be just as flabbergasted as I am.
Hence, the reason why I have created yet another mushroom dish. This one first came about because I basically just had some mushrooms leftover, we were going out of town, and I certainly didn’t want to let them go to waste. When I served it to my husband as a snack on the road, he got so excited! “What is that?!” he exclaimed. He immediately said I should put it on the website, so here it is. The green I added is my beloved broccoli (my favorite veggie ever) but of course feel free to add whatever you want. I think asparagus or spinach would be really nice!
Like I explained in my creamy mushroom soup [1] recipe, mushrooms have some wonderful health properties. The shiitake mushroom which is used in this recipe, are antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal.
Benefits of shiitake mushrooms:
- Removes excess fat and cholesterol from the blood
- Are complete proteins
- Reduces cholesterol
- Induces immune response against cancer and viral diseases
- Rich source of b vitamins
- Rich in vitamin D, folate, zinc, and fiber
- Improves energy and brain function
- Reduces inflammation in the body
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Servings: 4-5
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
- 3 scallion stalks, chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth + 3 tbsp
- 2.5 cups brown rice pasta
- 2 small heads of broccoli, chopped (you could also use asparagus or spinach instead)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 stalks green onion stalks, chopped
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Place cashews in bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
- In a medium sized pan, heat coconut oil on medium. Add 3 tbsp of veggie broth.
- Add in mushrooms and saute for about 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Add a splash more veggie broth if the mushrooms stick to the bottom of the pot.
- While that is cooking, fill a small/medium sized pan with water and bring to a boil. Add in chopped broccoli and cover.
- In the pot with mushrooms, add garlic. Saute for a few minutes until cooked. Remove all ingredients from pot to a small bowl and set aside.
- Carefully add in water to hot pot and fill halfway, enough for the pasta. Bring to boil and add in pasta. Cook al dente.
- In a high powered blender, add in half of the cooked mushrooms, cashews (drained from water), nutritional yeast, 3/4 cup veggie broth, lemon, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Taste test to add more salt and pepper.
- Add together pasta, broccoli, cooked mushrooms, green onions, and creamy sauce. Stir well, serve, and enjoy!
Note: If you want even more shroomy flavor, just add more!