Share Bucatini with Peas, Mushrooms and Creamy Tarragon Sauce, a delicious dish that screams Spring!
Bucatini with Peas, Mushrooms & Creamy Tarragon Sauce
I spotted this recipe in a fine Cooking magazine and knew I had to make it! First off, it celebrates one of my favorite harbingers of Spring – morel mushrooms. Believe it or not, I used frozen sautéed morels that have been in my freezer since 2005. We were delighted to discover they were still good! Mike thought the flavors of the dish overpowered the morels, but I thought they were great.
This recipe also calls for chanterelles, which I was unable to find, so I substituted shiitakes. I wouldn’t go the shiitake route again (too chewy.) Both button or baby bella mushrooms would also work well. But if you can lay your hands on some morels, fresh or dried, they are worth the investment.
Layers of Flavor
The layers of flavor in this dish come from the browned butter-lemon sauce which is first tossed with the pasta. Then there’s a mascarpone-tarragon sauce which is combined with the pasta, sautéed mushrooms, shallots, garlic and peas. The combination is simply divine!
Pump Up the Protein
Some chopped or shredded, cooked chicken would be a great way to pump up the protein for this pasta dish. You can cook up some chicken breasts yourself or hit the easy button and grab a rotisserie chicken.
Bucatini
Bucatini, is a thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center. The name comes from the Italian word buco, meaning “hole.” Normally I feel like pasta is pasta, meaning you can swap in whatever you’d you prefer or have on hand. That said, I enjoyed how the sauce coated these thick strands and was happy I tracked down some bucatini at HyVee. Regular spaghetti would be a readily available option as well.
Enjoy this tasty dish of Spring!
Bucatini with Peas, Mushrooms and Creamy Tarragon Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 oz. 4 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 2 Tbs. Champagne vinegar I used white balsamic vinegar
- 2 medium lemons 1 zested and juiced, 1 cut into wedges for serving
- Kosher salt
- 12 oz. bucatini or similar pasta
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- *8 oz. fresh morels cut into bite-size pieces, small mushrooms left whole (about 4 cups)
- *8 oz. fresh chanterelles cut into bite-size pieces, small mushrooms left whole (about 4 cups)
- 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas thawed
- 1/4 cup finely chopped garlic I used 2 tbsp.
- 8 oz. mascarpone at room temperature
- 2 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Shredded Parmesan for serving
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat until the milk solids are deep golden brown and the butter has a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar and 1 tbsp. of lemon juice, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with the brown-butter mixture.
- In a large straight-sided skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallots and cook until golden brown in spots, 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crisp in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the peas and cook, 1 minute, and then add the garlic and cook, about 15 seconds.
- Transfer the pasta to the skillet, and toss with the mushroom mixture. Add the mascarpone, 1/2 cup cooking water, 2 tbsp. of lemon juice, tarragon, 2 tsp. lemon zest, 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper, and toss until the cheese melts and the sauce is creamy. Add additional cooking water if needed.
- Divide the pasta among four plates, top with Parmesan and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!
This looks delicious, I wish I had some moral mushrooms lying around to make it with! 🙂
I use to see dried morels in grocery stores fairly commonly but not so much any more. Not sure why. I guess that makes the little stash we have left pretty valuable! ☺️