Spicy Creamy Mushroom Pasta

You like mushrooms, trust me! This creamy pasta is sure to wow your dinner party and it taste better each day! It's the crème de la crème of left overs if you can resist eating it all on day one.

What you'll need:

Mushrooms and Marinade

• 5 ounces of black oyster mushrooms

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon table salt

• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Pasta Sauce (See recipe for Creamy Chipotle Sauce and double it)

• 1 cup raw cashews

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

• 1 tablespoon chipotle powder

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

• 1 cup almond milk

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon salt

• Juice from 1/2 a lime

Pasta Contents

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1/2 medium red onion

• chopped green onion for garnish (optional)

• 12 ounces of gluten-free penne pasta (or whatever you fancy)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven 375 Fahrenheit bake. Prepare mushroom marinade by placing soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, and paprika into a small bowl and whisking ingredients together.

2. Halve the oyster mushrooms and place them into a baking dish prepared with cooking spray. Pour marinade over mushrooms and toss to coat. Place marinating mushrooms into the fridge for at least 5 minutes.

3. After removing mushrooms from the fridge, place in oven middle-rack and bake for 15 minutes.

4. While mushrooms are baking, prepare sauce by doubling my Creamy Chipotle Sauce recipe. Place sauce in fridge while you finish preparing the pasta.

5. After 15 minutes, remove mushrooms from oven and transfer them from the baking dish to a plate to cool. Drain any remaining liquid.

6. Prepare pasta contents by julienning the bell pepper and onion.

7. Heat coconut oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onions to pan and sauté for about 1 minute before adding mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms for another 30 seconds before reducing heat to medium-low.

8. Add pasta sauce at this time, coat pasta contents and allow sauce to simmer while you prepare pasta noodles. Reduce heat as needed and stir contents periodically to prevent pasta sauce from burning

9. Follow the instructions for cooking on your pasta noodle package. ALWAYS salt that water before boiling. I used Barilla's Gluten-free Penne pasta for this recipe.

10. When the pasta is tender, not soft, drain water and place pasta noodles into sauté pan with the rest of the pasta contents. Mix it all up, plate it, and garnish with green onion. Get ready for a party in your mouth!

Overview:

This recipe is an absolute winner, perfect for impressing someone special. I prefer using coconut oil for its delightful flavor infusion, but both grapeseed and olive oil also work beautifully, offering equally fantastic results. Just like any pasta dish, this one becomes even more delicious as the flavors meld over time, making it an excellent choice for leftovers. So if you manage to save any for later, you won't regret it.