Light & Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta

There's something about cool crisp weather that makes me crave warm and creamy carbs.  But of course, this time of year is also notorious for rich, gluttonous food, so I've been in search of lightened-up pasta recipes that are easy to make during the week in big batches, so we have plenty of leftovers for lunch.  So, when I was asked to create a recipe using the newly formulated I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® I knew I wanted to create a lightened version of one of my favorite pasta recipes.   

The new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® is made from real, simple ingredients – 100% taste, 0% artificial preservatives – and is still unbelievably delicious.  This new recipe is offered in the Original, Light, and Olive Oil varieties.  The new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® is made from real, simple ingredients like plant-based oils, purified water and a pinch of salt.  It's the first spread from Unilever in the U.S. to be made from non-GMO sourced ingredients and is available in grocery stores nationwide beginning October 2014. Visit us at www.icantbelieveitsnotbutter.com to learn more.

For this collaboration, I started with a recipe for a wild mushroom pasta and played around with it to lighten it up.  Instead of full-fat butter, I used the new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!®, cut down on the cream and added some veggies and spice.  I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out (it was just as good, if not better than the original recipe) and despite me making a huge batch, we ate the entire pot and didn't have any leftovers!  I think that's the sign of a good dinner.  Even Mac had a couple bites, despite telling me 600 times that "I no like mushrooms."  

The mushrooms are definitely the main focus of this pasta dish.  The recipe calls for a mix of exotic mushrooms, and I used a blend of baby portabellas/cremini, shikati and oyster mushrooms.  Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, very low in sodium, and provide important nutrients like selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D and more.  When I was pregnant with Mim, I craved mushrooms for months and made this pasta at least a dozen times.   You can probably use any blend/combination of mushrooms you want.  

Light & Cream Wild Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

- box of pasta (rigatoni or bowties)

- 12-16 ounces of wild mushrooms (cremini, shitaki, oyster, button)

- 3 tablespoons of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!®

- 1/2 cup chopped onion

- 1 tablespoon minced garlic

- 3 teaspoons salt, divided

- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

- 1/4 cup dry white wine

- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

- 1 cup whipping cream

- 2 cups fresh spinach

- 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package; drain.

2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, red pepper and mushrooms to pan.  Cook 12 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add wine and broth; cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

4. Add cooked para, whipping cream, spinach, cheese and 1 tablespoon parsley.  Tossing to coat.  Stir in remaining salt (add more (or garlic salt) to taste, if necessary).  Garnish with rest of parsley and Parmesan.

You are going to LOVE this recipe.  It's creamy, without being overly thick or heavy.  The spinach and parsley give it a light fresh taste and the red pepper flakes give it a tiny bit of spice.  Feel free to add more pepper for more spice or substitute snow peas for the spinach.  The mushrooms give the pasta such a nice earthy nutty flavor. This is a vegetarian dish, but would be great if you added some shredded chicken or maybe a turkey sausage.  Make it your own!  

But of course, serve with wine!  

The new I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® offers a fresh butter taste to add flavor to any meal, and can be used for spreading, topping, sautéing, cooking or baking.  In stores now!  

Anyone else a mushroom lover?
What are some of your favorite fall meals?

*I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.