I've always been a firm believer in not having to spend much money to eat well. That said, you can also spend lots of money and eat well, but I don't see it as necessary. As long as you have the right mindset and know the best way to prepare/utilise certain ingredients, you can eat damn good food.
Everybody loves pasta right? It's cheap, it's fast, it's filling, and it's loaded with carby goodness. It's definitely my go-to meal when I'm feeling lazy and poor.
So, here's something I came up with on a whim, I really wanted some sort of fancy pasta dish but didn't have much money and was so tired of the regulars; bolognese, carbonara, etc. It turned out delicious and took very little time to prepare. As an added bonus it's vegetarian too, but either way you've gotta be crazy to not love big chunks of mushroom.
Most of the ingredients are pantry staples. So buying the rocket, mushrooms and parmesan only set me back around $10.
Portobello Mushroom Pasta
Serves 4
8 small portobello mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp butter + splash of oil
1 500g packet of linguine/any shape really
1 150g bag of rocket
Grated parmesan to garnish*
Method:
Bring a large pot to the boil and salt well. Meanwhile slice mushrooms and garlic.
Saute mushrooms and garlic with butter and oil. At the same time as adding mushrooms to pan, add pasta to boiling water.
Once mushrooms are nearly cooked through season well** with salt and pepper. Do this later and not first to avoid the water leeching out of the mushrooms.
Cook pasta until al dente (I ALWAYS ignore the packet instructions and just taste it till its ready). Drain, then toss through the mushrooms and rocket.
Pile on to plates and top with grated parmesan to impress your guests.
*Don't tell anyone but I won't hate you if you use that stuff kept in the aisles
**Remember that once the mushrooms are tossed through the pasta the flavour will be less strong. Don't stress if they're a little over salted, it's probably a good thing!
