Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle with Mixed Mushrooms

After taking a walk over to the Dupont Farmer's Market and scoring a bunch of gourmet mushrooms, I decided to prepare a dish that would highlight the mushrooms in their natural state. I just received a package of Pappardelle's Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle and thought this would be the perfect pairing!  Pappardelle's is this awesome pasta company in Denver that makes tons of types of pastas in many flavors and about half of them are vegan! The choices are overwhelming and the taste is always very good.

So I prepared Artichoke & Lemon Taliatelle with Mixed Mushrooms featuring oyster, beech, king trumpet, wood ear, crimini, and maitake (hen of the woods) mushrooms.

And what better way to feature them than to use a high-quality olive oil like Bill Sanders' First Fresh Extra Virgin Olive Oil that is certified to be of high quality by the California Olive Oil Council. Unlike many fraudulent olive oils, you can taste the genuineness as soon as you try it. Using this rich olive oil enhanced the flavor of these mushrooms and when paired with the soft, fresh artichoke and lemon noodles, I had myself a perfect dinner.

Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle with Mixed Mushrooms
Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. Pappardelle's Artichoke & Lemon Tagliatelle
• 1/4 cup high quality olive oil (I used Bill Sanders' First Fresh)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. gourmet mixed mushrooms
• Sea salt
• 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Instructions
Cook pasta for 8-10 minutes until al dente.

In the meantime, heat a saute pan to medium-high. Add half the olive oil and saute the garlic and dried red pepper flakes for 30 seconds. Remove from oil. Saute some of the mushrooms in enough oil so it covers the bottom of the pan. Only saute one layer of mushrooms at a time. Sprinkle sea salt as desired. Turn mushrooms regularly until fully cooked and seared, about 5 minutes. Continue until all mushrooms are cooked through -- it will probably take two batches.

When all mushrooms are cooked, add them all to the pan along with noodles and parsley and toss for a minute to heat and mix. Garnish with more fresh parsley, if desired. Serve warm.