Pasta with Mushroom Sauce

A surprisingly creamy mushroom sauce -- surprising because it doesn't rely on cream at all, although it uses both cheese and butter. Instead, the pasta is cooked with the sauce, and the starch it releases acts as a thickener.

The recipe as written calls for shiitake and button mushrooms and campanelle pasta. I don't remember what pasta we used -- rotini, perhaps -- but as far as the mushrooms go we went all-in on cremini.

The result has a pleasant creaminess to the mouthfeel and a thick, clinging sauce, without the heaviness of an alfredo.

Ingredients
for 1 lb dried, store-bought pasta

• 1.5 lbs whole cremini mushrooms
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• salt and pepper
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 tbsp minced fresh sage
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ oz dried porcini mushrooms, rinced and finely chopped
• ⅓ C dry white wine
• 1 C freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp minced chives

Procedure

1. Coarsely chop half of the mushrooms; quarter the other half.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add all of the cremini mushrooms and ¾ tsp salt. Cover and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, ~5 minutes.
3. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until all liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms begin to brown, ~10 minutes.
4. Add shallots, sage, garlic, and porcini mushrooms and cook until fragrant, ~1 minute.
5. Add wine and cook until evaporated, ~2 minutes.
6. Stir in 4 cups water, the pasta, and 1¼ tsp salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is cooked al dente. Remove from heat.
7. Stir in romano, ¼ C hot water, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tbsp butter. Stir vigorously for one minute, until the sauce thickens.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with chives and additional cheese.