Buttery Black Truffle Mushroom Pasta

This dish is savory, filling, and umami-packed. The buttery truffle sauce is rich and pungent (in a good way), and the mushrooms are loaded with flavor. The inspiration for my Easy Black Truffle Mushroom Pasta dish is from my older sister who is visiting Charles for the first time in Austin.

I like to ask my guests for specific ingredients or cuisines that they prefer to avoid. From there, I can rule out dishes and brainstorm.

For plant-forward guests like my sister, I prioritize rich, filling, and healthy dishes that everyone could enjoy together. Mostly because I get hungry too fast when I do not eat animal protein.

This recipe features unique ingredients such as King Oyster Mushrooms and Black Truffles in Oil.

Inspiration for this dish

My sister is pretty special. Throughout our years, she has been instrumental in giving me sound advice from her own experiences. She put herself through graduate school, endured many hardships, and continues to pave the way to new opportunities.

On this visit, I get to marvel in her growth and her radiating love. My way of saying thank you is to create savory meals like this one, a delicious pasta dish sautéd with fragrant black truffles and savory, meaty umami mushrooms.

This dish is filling without being overwhelmingly heavy. It’s fancy enough to serve as a nice dinner, and easy enough to wow your friends and family with your cooking skills. Top some parmesan and black olives to dress it up even more.

This Buttery Black Truffle Mushroom Pasta dish uses rich and thoughtful ingredients that will keep your tummy happy for hours.

What is Black Truffle?

There are many different types of truffles, the main ones being black and white truffles. White truffles are more fragrant and flavorful. I like black truffles because their smell is less intense and musky, and therefore easier to cook with.

Truffles are a very expensive black fungi that originally grew in Italy and France. Now they are found worldwide. Compared to mushrooms, which grow above the ground, truffles grow below the earth.

You might have to go out of your way to invest in black truffle. My recipe uses the much easier to access truffle blend. These truffle blends offer the taste and smell of truffles, mixed in oil in order to mitigate the expense of expensive pure truffles. The flavors are still strong and aromatic and tasty, so I really like this alternative.

My favorite source is a black truffle mushroom blend from Urbani Truffles, which contains summer truffles, Champignon and Porcini mushrooms, and Grana Padano cheese. You can get yourself a can and store the extra truffle to be used in a new recipe, such as my Fig & Blue Cheese Pizza.

How long can I store my truffles?

The label advises storing leftovers in an airtight container and using the black truffle within 4 to 5 days.

However, I’ve stored my black truffle in a sterile airtight container, in the back of my fridge and was able to use it up to 2 weeks later. The flavors and aroma are still strong and rich.

What are King Oyster mushrooms?

Fresh king oyster mushrooms are earthy, aromatic, and very savory. They have a very tough and chewy texture. When sautéd in butter with a little salt, you get a umami-packed flavor profile.

Oyster mushrooms are usually expensive because they’re difficult to grow and maintain. They are packed with flavor and texture and an excellent option for meat replacement. King oyster mushrooms are the most expensive because they grow as individuals, rather than clusters of their close oyster mushroom relatives.

You can chop up king oyster mushrooms any way to create variety in texture. They can taste different depending on how you season it. You can shred them, grill them, cube them, slice them.

How to choose Mushrooms

To get the most fresh and flavorful mushrooms, find ones that are:

• Firm with a smooth appearance.
• The surfaces should be dry, but not dried out, and appear plump and firm.
• The umbrella part, or the veil, should be closed under the mushroom cap. This will give you a delicate flavor.
• Alternatively, an open veil and exposed gills mean a richer flavor, at the expense of the mushroom being older.

How do I store Mushrooms?

You can store these mushrooms by placing them in a paper bag that is loo open so that the mushrooms can still breathe. 

They will be fresh up to 7 days.

Enjoy this with

A glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and Toasted Garlic Bread slathered with butter. All great vegetarian options here.

What other pastas is this good with?

You can substitute the linguini with anything long and noodle-y like spaghetti, angle hair or cappelini, or even fuseli. Here’s my fuseli dish.

Recipe

Ingredients 

• 8 ounces uncooked linguine, reserving 1 cup pasta water
• 8 ounces uncooked linguine reserving 1 cup pasta water
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used rice bran oil)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ medium yellow onion diced
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
• 8 ounces King oyster mushroom diced
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 tablespoons black truffles in oil (I use Urbani Truffles)
• ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh cracked black peppercorn (to taste)
• ¼ cup parsley leaves chopped

Instructions 

1. In a large pot, boil salted water and cook linguine to al-dente according to instructions on pasta bag. Drain but do not rinse pasta, set aside. Reserve 1 cup pasta water.
2. In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add diced onions, stirring frequently, until onions become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic for 1 minute, then stir in cremini and king oyster mushrooms. Stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes until mushrooms start to brown. 
3. Add 1 tablespoon flour, mix to coat the mushrooms and onion and garlic, about 1 minute.
4. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add pasta water with the cooked linguine, stir for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add black truffles in oil, stir for 1 minute, then add parmesan cheese, stir until the sauce starts to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat. Add salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in fresh parsley. Garnish with more parsley, parmesan, and pepper.  Serve.

Storage

This recipe keeps for 2 days in your refrigerator. If you’d like to save it to enjoy later, you can freeze and store in airtight container.

You can microwave it when ready to eat. The advantage of the al-dente nature of the pasta is the pasta will not be super soggy and spoiled when you’re ready to eat it.