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When we don’t have dinner leftovers, I usually resort to cooking pasta for lunch because it’s quick and easy to make, plus it’s filling. And well, I LOVE pasta. For these weekday lunches, I just use what’s available at home. Follow me through this simple logic: Yesterday, for example, I made cream sauce because we had heavy cream. I ’stole’ some of Dan’s roast beef sandwich meats to add flavor to my pasta, instead of bacon or pancetta. I used white onion instead of shallots, which we didn’t have.

I love no fuss, stress free cooking during the day. And trust me, I felt like I deserved a good, stress free lunch yesterday!

If you want to have something ‘decent’ to eat with minimum effort required, why don’t you try this? The recipes are fit to feed one. Or two, for light snacking. You can easily double the recipe to share with a friend or beau. Nothing complicated at all. The result is a flavorful, creamy pasta and a tasty mushroom side. It’s delish.

I’ve included “coordinated” tips in the steps below so you can actually make everything in 30 minutes tops.

** Boil water for your pasta before you prepare the baby portobello **

Baked Baby Portobello

Ingredients:

  • baby portobellos
  • salt
  • pepper
  • grated parmesan cheese
  • olive oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. [If you have a toaster oven, that would work for 2-4 baby portobellos.]

2. Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth. Just wipe it.

3. Place them umbrella upside down on an oven safe dish. Drizzle or spray (with a sprayer) it with olive oil. Season with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. I like mine with lots of both, so use as you wish.

4. Place in oven and bake for a good 15 minutes.

5. Take it out and sprinkle parmesan cheese.

** Once the water for the pasta starts boiling (between steps 4 and 5), put your pasta in. Make sure to time it! And reserve half a cup of ‘pasta water’ before you drain it.**

Cream Sauce

  • 1/4 cup white onion
  • 1/8 cup diced roast beef, approx. 2 round slices (if you have 2 slices of pancetta, even better! You can use bacon, or any other cured meat you have there.)
  • 2 tbsp. heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • approx. 1/8 cup white wine
  • about 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • fresh Italian parsley

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan in medium heat.

2. Add the onions and and sauté until it starts to look translucent.

3. Add a little olive oil so that it doesn’t burn or dry up.

4. Add the diced meat and mix. Sauté for about 3 minutes.

5. Add a dash of wine, and allow it to reduce in half.

6. Decrease the heat. Stir in the cream and let it simmer. The moment it starts to bubble as in the picture on the right, take it out of the heat.

7. Mix in your freshly cooked pasta. If the sauce gets too thick, add small amounts of ‘pasta water’ until it reaches your preferred consistency.

7. Add a little salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Usually if you just want a hint of flavor, a little of both will suffice. The meat would have added a slight taste, or more if you used pancetta or bacon. The mushrooms would also be on the salty side so it will complement the slightly seasoned pasta very well.

8. Put on a plate and garnish with chopped (or quickly torn like I did) Italian parsley.

Indulge yourself. :-)

If you time and coordinate things well, you’ll finish this dish under 30 minutes. It took me about 40 because of the pictures. Everything was gone in less than 10.

Let me know if you try it. I’d love to hear how everything turns out for you. :-)

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