Prep time
10 min
Cook time
15 min
Serves
2
Calories
~520 kcal
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients
Method
01
Salt your pasta water properly
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season it until it tastes like mild seawater — this is the only chance you have to season the pasta itself. Cook until al dente, then save 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
02
Get colour on the mushrooms
Heat butter in a wide pan over high heat. Tear the oyster mushrooms into rough pieces and lay them in a single layer. Walk away for 2 minutes. Mushrooms release water when stirred — resist the urge. You want a golden, slightly crisp edge.
03
Build the aromatics
Once the mushrooms are golden, add the minced garlic and thyme leaves stripped from the stalks. Toss for about a minute until the garlic is fragrant but not brown. Season generously with salt and black pepper at this stage.
04
Make the cream sauce
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the cream and a good splash of pasta water — this is what makes the sauce silky and light rather than heavy. Stir and let it reduce for 1 minute until it coats the back of a spoon.
05
Add spinach and pasta
Throw in the baby spinach and toss until it just wilts into the sauce — 30 seconds. Then add the drained pasta directly into the pan and toss everything together, adding more pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
06
Finish and serve
Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan. Taste one final time — it may need more salt or a crack of black pepper. Plate immediately and scatter garlic chives over the top. Pasta waits for no one.
Tips for the best result
- ✦High heat is everything — mushrooms steam and go soggy at low heat. Get the pan properly hot before adding them.
- ✦Don't crowd the pan. If you have a small pan, cook mushrooms in two batches.
- ✦Pasta water is liquid gold. The starch in it binds the sauce to the pasta — keep a cup ready.
- ✦Oyster mushrooms cook fast. Once golden, they're done. Don't keep them on the heat.
- ✦Add parmesan off the heat so it melts smoothly rather than clumping.
Get all 4 ingredients delivered
Every ingredient in this recipe is available on Urban Farmers.
Harvested at dawn, delivered every Tuesday & Friday across Mumbai.