Weeknight Dinner – Pork and Porcini Pasta

by kristen · Published July 19, 2023 · Updated July 20, 2023

There is nothing I love better than finding a recipe that surprises me with its’ simplicity and bomb flavor! This pork and porcini pasta does exactly that.

If you have read any of my other posts, you may know that I grew up an incredibly picky eater. I could stomach about 3 vegetables, one being potatoes! One of the things on my absolute no-go list was mushrooms. That lasted well into my thirties, even after I had realized that I actually had an affinity for veggies of all sorts (once I actually began tasting them!). It took a lot of travel and eating with varied groups of people to get me out of my no zone and into my go zone when it comes to food. And I am thankful for that! Otherwise, I would not be sitting here writing about this amazing pork and porcini pasta!

The origin of the recipe

If you have read other recipes of mine, you might also know that I am a Jamie Oliver fan. His 5 Ingredient cookbook changed my world, at least in my kitchen! Check out this preview of the book on Google. This book has so many easy weeknight or lunch recipes that my book binding is completely broken from use. This is one I will tape, rubber band or perform some sort of ridiculous glueing procedure to ensure it stays kicking around! Some of the recipes have been committed to memory, or are flexible enough that I know the gist of the ingredients and wing it from there. Truly enjoyable cooking! Anyhow, this oprk porcini recipe is very close to one in “5 Ingredients”, with only tweaks to the ingredient amounts.

Pork and porcini pasta

Recipe by kristenCourse: Dinner/Lunch, Food, Kristen CooksCuisine: PastaDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ground pork with porcini mushrooms and rotini pasta

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork
1 1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms (or any mix of dried mushrooms of your liking)
1 onion, diced
12 oz dried pasta (I used rotini here, but penne, large shells, rigatoni or other types where the mushroom and pork can get lost in the pasta works great!)
1 3/4 oz parmesan cheese (finely grated)
Ingredients that Jamie Oliver does not consider part of the 5 core ingredients
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Boil about 2 cups of water. Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Ensure they are fully covered.
Cook the pasta per the box instructions, but remove 1-2 mins short of the cooking time. Pasta should be al dente, as it will cook further when combined with other ingredients. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the starchy water. Set aside
Heat oil in large frying pan. Add pork and continue to break up as it browns. If there is excessive oil, drain carefully before moving to next step. Keep an eye on your pasta…do not overcook! Wink!
Drain the porcinis, reserving all of the water left behind. Add the mushrooms and onion to the pan with the pork. Fry until all is golden
Add the red wine vinegar and the porcini water. Note that the last bit will have gritty bits, so add slowly and stop when the grit is visible, so as not to add. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer about 8-10 mins.
Add the drained pasta to the frying pan, as well as 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add in most of the parmesan, reserving a small bit to add over top once served. Toss to combine
If sauce is too thick, add remaining 1/2 cup of pasta water and stir until you have the consistency you want
Add salt and pepper, as well as more oil over top to taste. Curly or flat leaf parsley is also an option to garnish. Enjoy!