This easy maitake mushroom pasta combines crispy, meaty mushrooms and orecchiette pasta and a miso lemon sauce. Ready in just 25 minutes, it’s a simple vegan pasta recipe packed with umami, garlic, and lemon.
I truly can’t believe it’s been almost five years in this city. As I get ready for a new chapter, I keep thinking about where I am right now in life and how everything would be so, so different without having this my Chicago chapter. I’ve always believed that if we were meant to stay in one place, we wouldn’t have legs, so while I know it’s time to go… I’m still sad for my time in this beautiful city to be coming to an end.
So, naturally, I’m saying goodbye the best way I know how: through my kitchen. Brb while I attempt to use up every single ingredient in my refrigerator and pantry before the move.
25 Minute Mushroom Pasta
This vegan maitake mushroom pasta is one of those recipes that tastes like it took significantly more effort than 25 minutes.
Maitake mushrooms are seared until deeply golden and crispy before being tossed with orecchiette in a creamy sauce made from vegan butter, white miso, garlic, lemon, nutritional yeast, and starchy pasta water. The result is buttery and rich from the miso, bright from fresh lemon, a little spicy from red pepper flakes, and packed with crispy, meaty pieces of maitake.
And there’s no cream required.
What Are Maitake Mushrooms?
Maitake mushrooms, also known as hen of the woods mushrooms, grow in beautiful clustered caps. They have a peppery and earthy flavor and one of my FAVORITE textures when cooked. This might be my favorite mushroom currently. If you don’t like mushrooms… you will like these mushrooms.
They’re one of my favorite mushrooms to cook with because they can get seriously crispy on the outside while remaining tender and meaty inside.
Instead of slicing maitake with a knife, I like to gently tear the clusters into large pieces with my hands. All those irregular edges make for more crispy bits when they hit a hot skillet.
Why I Love Maitake Mushrooms
- They have an incredible meaty texture. Maitake are substantial enough to really become the star of a meal.
- They get VERY crispy. Give them enough room and leave them alone in a hot pan and those edges turn golden and crisp.
- They’re packed with umami. Their natural flavor is so good that often times I don’t even season these- just eat them straight up.
- They don’t need much. A little olive oil, salt, pepper, and a good sear can completely transform them.
- They’re a perfect example of why I love cooking with plants and fungi. You don’t need to disguise them as something else. Maitake mushrooms are pretty magical exactly as they are.
The Secret to Crispy Maitake Mushrooms
The most important thing you can do?
Leave. Them. Alone.
