Creamy Pesto Fettuccine with Mushrooms & Tomatoes

Last week when I made the Pesto Tortellini Soup I had on my menu, I ended up with 7 ounces minus 1/4 cup of pesto left over. The next night we had Easy Peasy Bean Tacos, which resulted in a half a container of leftover grape tomatoes. The next night (are you liking this painful play-by-play?) I swung by the store on the way home from a playdate and saw a $2 package of fresh fettuccine that inspired me. I grabbed a half pint of cream, a package of sliced mushrooms and went home to throw dinner together as quickly as possible.

The result was a simple and fast recipe that was molto delicioso. The best part? My girls ate ALL of their dinner and then some. And I have another meatless recipe to add to the arsenal.

Buon appetito!

Creamy Pesto Fettuccine with Mushrooms & Tomatoes
From Jane Maynard, This Week for Dinner
- 9 oz. fresh fettuccine (or whatever past you have on hand)
- 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
- Couple handfuls of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 2-4 garlic cloves, minced or smashed through a garlic press
- 1/2 pint cream
- Prepared pesto (I used 7 ounces MINUS 1/4 cup since the pesto was leftover from the soup recipe, but I think a 7-ounce package will work just fine…no need to subtract out that 1/4 cup…although you could make the Pesto Tortellini Soup the same week to coordinate!)
- 2 handfuls fresh grated parmesan cheese, plus some for garnish
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- Olive oil for sautéing

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and drizzle with a bit of butter or olive oil to prevent sticking.

While waiting for water to boil for the pasta, start working on the other stuff. Sauté the mushrooms in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until softened. Add garlic and tomatoes and sauté a few minutes more. Add cream, pesto sauce and salt; simmer to reduce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted.

Pour sauce over pasta and serve, sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil if you have it.

A few things I think would be good to add, but I haven’t actually tried yet:
- A shallot sautéed with the mushrooms
- Spinach
- White beans

18 Comments »

butterfly wishes and wonderland dreams

September 28, 2010 at 7:15 am

this is so going on my menu plan for next week, I’ll also be posting my menus again here

I’ll let you know how the cream switch out works

Mary

September 28, 2010 at 8:24 am

This sounds fabulous! I love a meatless pasta – definitely bookmarked!

Mary xo
Delightful Bitefuls

Elisa

September 28, 2010 at 8:43 am

It looks delicious, I will have to try it sometime, unfortunately some of my family won’t eat food with tomatoes they can identify and no one but me likes mushrooms. I will make it though, for me!

Katie @ goodLife {eats}

September 28, 2010 at 8:57 am

I am definitely going to give this one a try! Sounds great! I wish my basil plants had done better this year so I could make a big batch of pesto and freeze it. I can’t do store bought since 99% of them have pine nuts in them and I’m allergic. I usually sub walnuts or almonds when I make it.