Can you spot the pasta in this picture?
Is it right there in the bowl? Nope, that’s not it. It’s really King Oyster mushrooms (also known as trumpet mushrooms), thinly sliced to resemble the flat ribbons of pappradelle noodles, there’s no actual pasta in the entire dish.
At John Bentley’s, a very nice, upscale restaurant in Redwood City, CA serving seasonal New American cuisine, there’s only one entree on the menu that could easily be made vegan. It was this dish, Trumpet Mushroom “Pappardelle”.
So simple and good. I loved it so much, I had to recreate it at home. I have no idea if this is how the restaurant makes it. This is my homemade version.
For long “noodles”, I used the largest King Oysters I could find. It’ll seem like a lot of mushrooms, but it cooks down quite a bit. For the sauce, I adapted the recipe for Tomato Marina from Ani’s Raw Food Essentials.
Unlike real pasta, the mushroom “noodles” is very light. Serve it with soup, salad, or garlic bread.
King Oyster Mushroom “Pappardelle Noodles”
Serves 2 as part of a meal
4 Large King Oyster mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 Kalamatas olives, sliced
Fresh basil for garnish
Couple tablespoons of tomato sauce
Make the tomato sauce and set aside. Wash and slice the mushrooms thinly into the shape of a long, flat noodle. Heat a sauté pan to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook until just tender. Transfer to a bowl, add a couple tablespoons of the tomato sauce. Gently toss to coat. Add the olives and toss again. To serve, garnish with the basil.
Tomato Sauce
Makes about 1/2 cup
1 cup tomatoes (use cherry or roma)
1 small Medjool date
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Pit and finely chop the Medjool date. Cut the larger tomatoes in half or quarters. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until chunky smooth.
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amey says
whoa! this seems like such a wild idea… I’m not a huge shroom fan, but this really sounds good.
also! you won one of my cookbooklettes! Just send me your mailing address! :)
india-leigh says
flabbergasted – pasta from fungi?!! Wow. What does it taste like?
Cheryl says
Where do you get King Oyster Mushrooms?
Noelle (@singerinkitchen) says
WOW!!!! I have had those mushrooms and now I have a new way to make this recipe!!! YUM!
Andrea says
What? How on earth did you do that? They look exactly like noodles. I can’t believe I can cut the mushrooms thin enough but this is something I want to try.
LittleMonsterx14 says
omg that is so cool! does it taste like mushrooms. or more like pasta?
chow says
amey – Yay! Thanks so much!
india-leigh – It taste like sauteed mushrooms.
Cheryl – I get King Oyster Mushrooms at the Asian supermarket. They have some that’s from China but they also started carrying organic US-grown ones too. I get the US ones. Sometimes I see them at the local farmer’s market too.
Noelle – I would never have thought to cook mushrooms this way before eating at the restaurant.
Andrea – I didn’t think I could cut them thin enough either. They’re not paper thin or anything, they just shrink down when cooked.
LittleMonsterx14 – It taste like mushrooms, it’s only in a pasta shape. :-)
Jodye @ Chocolate and Chou Fleur says
This looks great, and I can’t believe how much the mushrooms look like pasta! I’m not much of a pasta fan myself but I do love a good mushroom! I’ll have to try this as soon as I can find some King Oyster mushrooms
Hannah says
Amazing! I’ve seen mushrooms used to stand in for all sorts of improbable things (seafood in particular) but never, ever noodles. This is downright ground-breaking! I’m thrilled by this post and absolutely have to try it, asap.
janet @ the taste space says
I love how versatile mushrooms can be and this is pretty novel. Can’t wait to try it out. :)
Jes says
Oh wow, mushroom noodles! I’m going to have to try that technique out super soon. The whole dish looks seriously warm & dreamy.
mrsleny says
That looks amazing!
natalie says
YUM! this looks amazing.
Ginnyfraase says
Thank you for this sharing this wonderful dish. Just came from the Asian market and loaded up on mushrooms. I can’t wait to try this dish. I am about to make wild mushroom tamales. Excited to get started:)!
Mr & Mrs Vegan says
This is the most brilliant idea ever! You make mushroom even cooler:) Love the recipes on your blog:) Makes being a vegan so much easier and yummy too.
Cheers,
Roland & Priscilla
Krista Francis says
I tried this recipe and maybe I didn’t cook the mushrooms correctly but it was very spongey and ruggery. Any advice?
chow says
Krista Francis – I’m sorry to hear that, I’m not sure what went wrong. But here’s a link on how to saute mushrooms. It explains the process much better than I can plus it has pictures. Hope that helps.
http://www.menshealth.com/guy-gourmet/how-saut-mushrooms