Creamy Mushroom Pasta

It’s officially mushroom season, so what better way to celebrate than with this delicious Creamy Mushroom Pasta by Wholesome Hedonista! Not only is this pasta rich in flavor, it’s vegan, and it’s both dairy and gluten free! This is comfort food you won’t feel bad about it as you go for a second, and maybe even a third helping!

Caramelize me, captain

A key part of this recipe is the caramelization of the shallots and mushrooms which impart a deep savory sweet and buttery flavor to the pasta. There’s two reactions in play when we caramelize things: The Maillard reaction, and Caramelization. Caramelization is straightforward, it’s the oxidation of sugar. The Maillard reaction is more complex but the gist is that it’s a nonenzymatic reaction between proteins and sugars that occur upon heating and produces browning of some foods like Meat. It’s important to note that these reactions are not mutually exclusive, so you can have one without the other.

Can’t rush perfection

One thing about caramelization is that there’s no one neat trick to speed it up, it just takes time. You may hear about adding baking soda to help speed up the process but it turns the shallots into mush and gives them a bitter taste. What about adding sugar? It won’t really help anything but make them sweeter. The only way to do this right is with steady heat and time. While it may be disappointing to hear you won’t get caramelized shallots and mushrooms in as low as 10 minutes, the time you invest will pay off with flavors that can’t be beat.

If you take the time, and do it right then this dish just can’t be beat. Special thanks to Wholesome Hedonista for this recipe! You can check out their Instagram at @wholesomehedonista and their website at wholesomehedonista.com.