Dishing Up the Dirt

Penne with Chanterelle Mushrooms & Red Wine Sauce

Comfort food anyone?

We enjoyed this lovely meal with great friends on a particularly chilly night here at Tumbleweed Farm. We were still feeling pretty down about the deer damage from last week and some of our best friends swung by with lots of wine, hugs and empty bellies. We are so lucky to have amazing people in our lives who know the perfect way to cheer us up. Great food, rad friends and plenty of local wine is my medicine. Who needs a doctor when you are blessed with all of these wonderful things? We even came up with a better game plan for our deer fencing system (which obviously needs some upgrading!)

It is officially fall in the Pacific Northwest when chanterelle mushrooms start popping up everywhere. I impatiently wait all year for these bad boys to make their seasonal debut and they have finally arrived!  We traded some Tumbleweed Farm veggies at the farmers market for locally harvested chanterelle mushrooms and some delicious local cheese. This pasta is the result of that wonderful trade.

Since the weather has cooled down quite a bit I am loving these heartier meals. It’s been far too long since we’ve enjoyed a giant plate of pasta and this meal really hit the spot. The mushrooms and wine cook down and create an amazing sauce. If the aromas from my kitchen could be passed through the computer screen you all would whip this up right away! I hope you enjoy this simple meal as much as we do. Bon appétit!

Penne with Chanterelle Mushrooms & Red Wine Sauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 20 minutes    Serves: 4

  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
  • 1 pound chanterelle mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves OR 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes + additional for a little more heat
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup red wine- I used a cabernet sauvignon
  • 8 ounces penne pasta
  • 1/2 cup parsley, minced
  • Organic parmesan cheese for severing (optional but recommended!)
  • Additional olive oil for drizzling over pasta

Preparation

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally.  Add the mushrooms, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften and become fragrant.
  2. Stir in the red wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the mixture reduces by half. About 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. Taste test and adjust seasonings if need be.
  3.  While mushrooms cook prepare your pasta. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. About 8 minutes. Strain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.
  4. Return cooked pasta to the pan and stir in the mushroom sauce. Add chopped parsley, parmesan cheese and additional salt and pepper to taste. If the pasta is dry add the additional cooking liquid. Divide pasta between plates and drizzle pasta with a little extra olive oil. Enjoy!

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide. *Adjust measurements and ingredients to suite your individual needs and taste preference. *Cooking should be fun so feel free to play around with the recipe and add your own touches.


Leave a Reply

8 thoughts on “Penne with Chanterelle Mushrooms & Red Wine Sauce

  1. Lauren C says:

    This looks decadent and perfect for a cool, Fall evening. Bookmarked & can’t wait to try! Sorry about the deer incident; I can only imagine how disheartening it must have been!

  2. This red wine sauce looks delicious. Perfect dish for this cool fall weather we’re having too!

  3. Francesca says:

    It’s very much pasta weather here, too. I <3 chantrelles!

  4. Sorry to hear about your deer problem. Good friends and a glass of wine with a delicious pasta dinner can go a long way to making everything feel better though. We are having a rainy spring here in Australia, so this delicious pasta dish will be perfect for dinner soon. Thanks Andrea.

  5. Karolyn says:

    When I read about the deer problem my heart just sank for you guys! I couldn’t imagine anything so frustrating. I’m surprised this recipe didn’t call for “local venison”…. jk!

    1. Andrea says:

      I’ll eat any animal that is f***ing with our vegetables!!! Yeah, our friends have volunteered to camp out with rifles. Venison chili might make an appearance on the blog soon 🙂

  6. You have yourself some lovely friends. So sorry to hear about the deer damage. On a lighter note, this dish looks hearty and filling. Love the sauce.

  7. Carolyn says:

    Excellent I made this tonight. Since Chanterelles are on sale!. Great dish.

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