Creamy Mushroom Sage Pasta

Creamy Mushroom Sage Pasta showcases the rich umami-flavor of seasoned sautéed mushrooms in a rich white wine and cream sauce.  Serve the sauce topped with pasta and then fried sage leaves and their browned butter and oil for a beautiful and rich main course.  Easy to prepare, Creamy Mushroom Sage Pasta makes for a savory, aromatic dinner; we recommend a simple starter of Wilted Arugula Salad, and accompany the meal with a crisp, dry white wine.

Prep Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 55 minutes. Serves 2.

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Ingredients:

• 12 fresh Sage leaves
• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided into 1Tb and 2 Tbs
• 3 Tbs Unsalted Butter, divided into 1 Tb and 2 Tbs
• 8 oz fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
• 8 oz fresh small Brown (Baby Bella) Mushrooms
• 3 Tbs minced Shallot
• ¼ tsp fine Sea Salt
• 1/8 tsp finely ground White Pepper
• Pinch ground Nutmeg
• ½ tsp dried Thyme leaves
• 1/3 cup dry White Wine
• ½ cup Heavy Cream
• 8 oz Cheese-filled Ravioli or 6 oz dry Pasta

Preparation:

1. In a small sauté pan, add one tablespoon each of extra virgin olive oil and unsalted butter. Melt the butter into the olive oil over a medium heat, then lay the sage leaves in the pan and sauté until the sage leaves start to crisp, turn them over and repeat; this takes approximately 5 minutes.
2. Turn off the heat and gently remove the fried sage leaves to a plate and set aside. Set the pan with the sage-flavored browned oil and butter aside but keep warm for use later in this recipe.
3. Trim the stems from the shiitake mushrooms, slice the caps and the brown mushrooms thinly and set aside.
4. In a wide, deep frying pan, add the remaining two tablespoons each of the extra virgin olive oil and unsalted butter. Melt the butter into the olive oil over a medium heat.
5. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
6. Mince the shallot and add to the frying pan, sauté until the shallot softens, about 3 minutes.
7. Add the combined mushrooms to frying pan and sauté uncovered until the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are browning. If using dry pasta, begin cooking them midway through the mushroom browning, about 10 minutes.
8. While the mushrooms are sautéing, combine the sea salt, white pepper, nutmeg and thyme leaves in a small bowl; once the mushrooms are browned, sprinkle the seasonings into the pan, stir to season the mushrooms and sauté for 1 additional minute. If using fresh pasta or ravioli, add them to the boiling water and cook until al dente about 5 or 6 minutes.
9. Pour the white wine into the pan, stir and sauté uncovered over a medium-high heat until the wine is absorbed by the mushrooms, about 2 minutes.
10. Add the heavy cream to the pan, stir and sauté uncovered until the sauce thickens and remove from the heat.
11. Divide the sauce evenly onto two dinner plates. Drain the pasta and use a slotted spoon to place the pasta or ravioli on top of the sauce.
12. Ladle the browned sage butter and oil over the pasta on each plate; scatter 6 fried sage leaves over each plate and serve Creamy Mushroom Sage Pasta immediately.