Deeply browned mushrooms, rigatoni, and a loose, glossy cream sauce finished with pecorino, herbs, and lemon.

I came across some beautiful chanterelles at Uwajimaya while filming our Japanese Pantry Guide the other day, and while I normally make this pasta dish with much less expensive mushrooms, I love chanterelles enough that I couldn't resist.

The good news is that the specific mushroom really isn't important here. Button or cremini mushrooms work great. So do shiitake, portobello, hen of the woods, oyster mushrooms, or virtually any mixture you can find at the grocery store or farmers market. The important part is giving the mushrooms enough heat and time to actually brown them before you start building the sauce.

This is one of those pastas where the sauce doesn't really exist until the very end. You start by browning the mushrooms hard in olive oil (I like to throw in a thyme or rosemary sprig while the mushrooms sauté and fish it out later), then add a little onion or shallot and garlic. Lemon juice gives it brightness, a tiny splash of soy sauce adds savory depth without making the pasta taste remotely soy-saucy, and chicken stock, cream, and butter form the rest of the emulsified base.

Now I know some folks are going to jump in and ask, “Have you seen that Cook’s Illustrated method where you start mushrooms in a dry pan to get rid of their water content before adding oil?”

The answer is yes, I have! And I’ve tried it! It works fine, but it takes longer and is more fussy that the traditional method of cooking the mushrooms with oil (which, by the way, drives out moisture faster than cooking in a dry pan). But if you enjoy that method, it’ll work just fine here.

The thing that actually turns all of these ingredients into a creamy pasta sauce is the pasta itself. I transfer it directly from its cooking water to the mushroom mixture, then cook and toss it hard and fast. Starchy water clinging to the noodles—and a little extra pasta water as needed—helps the fat, stock, and cream emulsify into a sauce that coats every piece of pasta without becoming heavy or gluey.

I finish it off-heat by tossing in big shower of pecorino and a handful of minced parsley.

By the way: A wok is my favorite pan for this. You get plenty of surface area for browning mushrooms and, more importantly, lots of room for tossing the pasta aggressively at the end (a large skillet works perfectly well too).

Recipe: Easy Weeknight Chanterelle Pasta

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I love about this recipe:

It works with virtually any mushroom, from inexpensive buttons to chanterelles or other wild mushrooms.

Browning the mushrooms first gives them much deeper flavor than simmering them directly in the sauce.

A tiny splash of soy sauce boosts the mushrooms' savoriness without announcing itself.

The final sauce is creamy without relying on a huge quantity of heavy cream.

The technique—finishing pasta directly in a loose sauce with pasta water—is useful for countless other pastas.

Yields: 4 servingsActive Time: 30 minutesTotal Time: 30 minutesSpecial Equipment: Large wok or 12-inch skillet; medium to large pot for pasta; metal spider or other tool for moving pasta between pots.

Ingredients

1 pound (450g) mushrooms, such as chanterelles, button or cremini, shiitake, portobello, hen of the woods, oyster mushrooms, or a mixture of the above

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons (45ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

1 sprig fresh thyme or rosemary (optional)

1 small shallot or ½ small onion, finely minced

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce

½ cup (120ml) chicken stock

¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream

2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter

1 pound (450g) rigatoni or other short tubular pasta

2 ounces (55g) finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving

¼ cup finely minced fresh parsley or chives

Method

Trim the mushrooms as necessary. Leave small mushrooms whole and split or quarter larger mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a large wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and thyme or rosemary, if using. Season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing or stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and are deeply browned, 6 to 10 minutes depending on the variety and heat source. If the pan looks dry before the mushrooms are well browned, add another splash of olive oil.

Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring and tossing, for about 30 seconds. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds longer.

Add the lemon juice and soy sauce and toss to combine. Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, and butter. Bring to a vigorous simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced slightly and begins to look saucy. Reduce the heat to low while the pasta finishes cooking (see next step).

Meanwhile, bring a medium to large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente (a minute or two less than the package directions). Before draining, reserve at least 1 ½ cups (350ml) pasta cooking water.

Using a metal spider, add the pasta directly to the wok or skillet, bringing along whatever cooking water clings to it. Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is glossy and coats each piece, 1 to 2 minutes. Add pasta water a few tablespoons at a time as necessary. The sauce should look a little looser than you think it needs to; it will continue to tighten as the pasta sits and as you add the cheese.

Remove from heat and discard any herb sprigs. Add the pecorino and parsley or chives and toss vigorously until the cheese melts into the sauce. Add more pasta water as necessary to maintain a loose, creamy consistency.

Taste and season with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice as desired. Serve immediately with additional pecorino at the table.