Savory Garlic Balsamic Mushroom Pasta

Balsamic vinegar is becoming my new favorite find.  I realize that more skilled cooks may be well awake of it's amazing potential, but I had not.  After using Balsamic vinegar in the portebella mushroom panini recipe last week, I had an inkling that this dish would be amazing.  It has a savory, rich aroma and taste that is divine.  The mushrooms and onions end up caramelizing in the vinegar and olive oil as the sauce reduces on simmer for 20 minutes.  This recipe will undoubtably be added to my all time favorites category... wherever that may reside.

This recipe is a very slight variation on the dish from Florida Coastal Cooking, mainly to keep within recommended vegan social norms.  By this I mean honey.  Vegans generally don't respect the use of honey; therefore I replaced it with Agave nectar instead.  While I personally do not have an issue with honey, I keep this site purely vegan at all times, without exceptions.  Besides that, you may want to add some veggies to this dish when the mushrooms are added.  I will be adding broccoli and red pepper the next time that I make this.  However, this version in perfectly delicious, and is a great simple version for matching a specific taste.  Read on for the full recipe [...]

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 large garlic glove, minced

8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, chopped

2 0z. portebella mushrooms, chopped

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons agave nectar

4 oz. linguine pasta

coarse salt and pepper, to taste

chives for garnish, optional

(I personally guessed at the number of ounces I used.  It didn't seem to matter)

Directions:

Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.  Add the olive oil.  Let this heat up briefly before adding the chopped onions.  Let this cook for 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low medium.  Add the garlic and let cook for another 2 minutes.  Once that has finished, add the mushrooms, vinegar, agave nectar, and salt and pepper to taste.  Turn the heat down to a simmer and let sit for 20 minutes.  This will allow the liquid to cook down to more of a sauce.  It also does an exceptional job of caramelizing the onions and mushrooms!

While it simmers, bring a medium pot of water to a boil.  Add the linguine and cook as directed.  The pasta will likely finish a bit before the rest of the dish.  Once all is completed, pour the mushroom concoction over the pasta and serve.  It will be so the delicious!  I promise.

Also feel free to use whatever mushrooms you like, but the original author suggests several different kinds, and I agree.  This dish needs meatier mushrooms, which is why I used shiitake.