Stylized green text featuring "OG" and a plus sign on a dark green background, representing creativity and modern design.
Shop
Stylized green text featuring "OG" and a plus sign on a dark green background, representing creativity and modern design.

BLACK GARLIC PASTA

Recipes

This Black Garlic Pasta tastes rich and decadent, without being heavy. Black garlic sauce adds a sweet and savory flavor that makes the sautéed shallots and mushrooms shine. You will need to make Black Garlic Butter first. From there, you’re just a few steps away from twirling buttery spaghetti strands into your mouth.

You can make this in advance or have it ready in 25 minutes and serves 4.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 3 shallots thinly sliced (about ¾ cup)

  • 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced

  • 8 ounces spaghetti or linguine

  • 2 ounces black garlic butter

  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

  • ½ ounce parmesan cheese plus more to garnish

  • Chopped parsley or chives to garnish

  • Black Garlic Butter:Easy to make. See Black Butter Recipe.

  • Shallots: A mild onion can substitute here. Try a Vidalia onion, a white onion, or even a red onion.

  • Spaghetti/Linguine: Any type of pasta will work in this recipe, even a gluten-free pasta.

  • Shiitake Mushrooms: FCan substitute a different type of mushroom for this recipe—just note that button mushrooms or portobello mushrooms may take a little longer to release their liquid and start to brown.

  • Parmesan Cheese: Or substitute Pecorino Romano cheese 

Directions

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a 10-inch nonstick skillet.
  2. Add ¾ cup of sliced shallots and 4 ounces of sliced shiitake mushrooms.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until shallots and mushrooms are softened and beginning to brown.
  5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook 8 ounces of pasta as directed on the package. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining the cooked pasta.
  6. Add the pasta to the pan with the shallots and mushrooms.
  7. Add 2 ounces of black garlic butter and ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and toss.
  8. Add reserved water a bit at a time, until the pasta is coated in a thin sauce (you may not need all the reserved water).
  9. Stir in ½ ounce of parmesan cheese.
  10. Serve, garnished with additional parmesan cheese and chopped chives or parsley. 

Tips…………………………………

Don’t forget to reserve that pasta water before you drain the pasta. The starch in the water helps adhere the butter sauce to the pasta so you get a creamy sauce. 

If you have mushroom haters in your house, you can omit the mushrooms. The black garlic pasta sauce is plenty delicious on its own, and even better with the sautéed shallots. 

To make this dish in advance, you can prepare the shallots and mushrooms, and of course the black garlic butter, and keep them in the refrigerator. But we’d recommend making the pasta and tossing it with the sauce right before you’re ready to serve. 

For a slightly different version of this dish, try replacing the black garlic butter with a combination of softened butter and roasted garlic. So good! Find out the best way to roast garlic with our Roasted Garlic Recipe. Or toss the mushrooms, shallots, and pasta with a white wine sauce.

If you have leftovers and want to reheat this dish, you might find the pasta is a little dry, since it will have absorbed some of the moisture from the sauce. Add in a bit more black garlic butter and a splash of water before reheating. That should coat the pasta in the sauce again.