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You'll be amazed at how flavorful this caramelized leek and mushroom gruyere pasta is from just a few ingredients. A comforting vegetarian pasta fit for any day of the week!
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What makes this dish special
What's your favorite season? Mine is fall, but if I were to base it solely on food, it would have to be summer. For some reason, I'm not too crazy about spring foods. Don't get me wrong, I still eat asparagus, radish, and artichoke. But they just don't excite me like peaches or tomatoes. So, I decided to make a spring pasta dish that I would get excited about. This caramelized leek and mushroom gruyère pasta may not be a typical spring dish, but it has leeks, so it still counts, right?
I first prepared this dish for my clients when I was a private chef, and I will admit, I was a little surprised at how popular it was. Just a couple of days after I prepared the pasta, they were all asking for it again the following week! I knew I had a winning dish on my hands. Hopefully, you'll love it as much as they did!
If you're looking for more delicious vegetarian pasta, check out this summer zucchini pasta with tomato pesto, spring pea and asparagus pistachio pesto pasta, or spicy pomodoro pasta with whipped ricotta!
Recipe
Caramelized Leek and Mushroom Gruyere Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 3 medium leeks tops removed, cut in half and thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup sherry wine
- 8 ounces oyster mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 sage leaves
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- ½ cup grated gruyere
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add sliced leeks and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon sugar. Cook until golden and caramelized, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the pan gets too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- Add sherry and continue to cook until the wine has reduced. Remove leeks from the pan and set them aside.
- In the same pan, melt another tablespoon of butter. Spread mushrooms in an even layer, giving them plenty of space in between. Let them sit until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip and continue to brown on the other side. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add minced garlic and sage and saute for 1 minute. Add back leeks along with ¾ cup heavy cream, balsamic vinegar, and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, cook fettuccine until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking pasta water.
- Add fettuccine, 1 cup reserved pasta water, gruyere, and black pepper to the sauce, tossing to coat. Simmer for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and the pasta is well coated. Give a final seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Portion pasta into 4 bowls and garnish with toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Caramelize leeks
Leeks are, in my opinion, a very underrated vegetable. Considering that they belong to the onion family, it's quite surprising that's the case. They're sweeter than onions, and when cooked down and caramelized, they're very delicious.
Prepare the leeks by first removing the green tops; we only want the bulbs and lighter green leaves. Then, cut them in half lengthwise and wash the dirt in between the layers.
Cut off the roots and slice the leeks.
If you have ever prepared caramelized onions, caramelizing leeks is the same process. Melt a pat of butter and drizzle some oil in a saute pan.
I like to use a combination of butter and oil because butter contributes to the flavor.
Continue to cook the vegetable until it becomes golden brown. This is a long, slow process and should take about 20 minutes or so.
Finish the leeks with a splash of sherry wine, then set them aside.
Recipe Tip
If the pan gets too dry while caramelizing the leeks, add a tablespoon or two of water.
Step 2: Finish pasta sauce
In the same pan, melt another pat of butter and cook the mushrooms until beautifully browned.
The trick to browning mushrooms is not to overcrowd the pan. Mushrooms have a lot of water in them, so if you crowd the pan, they'll steam rather than brown.
If you need to cook the mushrooms in batches, it's better to do so.
Add sage and garlic to the pan and saute for another minute. Then, add the leeks back to the pan along with heavy cream, balsamic vinegar, and lemon zest. Simmer the sauce and season it with salt and pepper.
The sauce will be thick, but don't worry. We're going to thin it out with the cooking pasta water.
Step 3: Add the pasta
Toss the noodles with the sauce and stir with the gruyère until the cheese is nice and melted. Give the caramelized leek and mushroom gruyère pasta a final seasoning adjustment and top it with toasted pine nuts for the finishing touch.
If you're feeling extra cheesy, go ahead and sprinkle some grated Parmesan too.
Mushrooms and leeks go hand in hand, and this caramelized leek and mushroom gruyère pasta is the perfect example. The sweet leeks pair beautifully with the savory meaty mushrooms and nutty cheese. Even if you're a meat lover, you'll hardly miss it with this incredibly satisfying pasta.
Serve this with a simple green salad, charred broccoli with pesto, or a side of crusty bread with sun-dried tomato olive oil bread dip for a complete meal!
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: The sauce can be prepared ahead of time, up to 1 day in advance. Heat the sauce gently on the stovetop before tossing it with the pasta.
- Store: Keep leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refridgerator for up to 3 days. If the pasta gets too dry when reheating, add a splash of heavy cream.
More mushroom recipes
Looking for more dishes featuring mushroom? Try these:
Work with me
All images shot and styled by Christine Ma. Available for food photography, styling, and recipe development.
Annie says
Wow! I wasn't able to find pine nuts this time around but this recipe was still so delicious!! I'm definitely going to try and find them for the next time I make this. Thank you so much Christine!
Cherry on My Sundae says
Thanks so much for giving my recipe a try!
Anne says
This pasta was amazing. Made for New Year’s dinner with King Crab Leg…….had King Crab leftover but no pasta!! I had forgotten to get the pone nut so can only image it could only get better!
Cherry on My Sundae says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Linda Woods says
This leek and mushroom fettuccini pasta looks amazing. I might try using a dry white wine in place of the sherry since I don’t have sherry on hand. I’m hoping g it will be ok. No harm in trying I guess. 🙂 this looks delicious and I love leeks and mushrooms. Thank you so much for sharing!
Cherry on My Sundae says
It should still work with white wine! I hope you enjoy this dish!
Mimi Smissen says
Absolutely delicious will certainly be making again. Didn’t have sherry so used Maderia which worked for me.
Cherry on My Sundae says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Jessica says
Made this tonight. It was awesome. Hearty without meat & very flavorful. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing
Cherry on My Sundae says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much!
Jillian says
OMG. I knew this would be good because I love all of the ingredients in it. I did NOT think it would be THIS GOOD. 15/10. There was so much flavor coating the pasta and I will make this again and again!
Cherry on My Sundae says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for giving my recipe a try!
Sal says
This recipe is an absolute keeper. It tasted better each day. I used Linguine, doubled the garlic, no pine nuts, and generously topped with Pecorino Romano (Locatelli of course).
Cherry on My Sundae says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Jess says
Soooo good.
This is was well worth the time and effort to make. My mushies were tattered and beat up so I just chopped them up. I used a smoked gouda as that is what I had on hand. I was a little worried it wouldn't melt in to become saucey but it did.
Thank you for sharing.
Cherry on My Sundae says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
morgana says
The flavor is so good, but my sauce came out too thin and I don't know why. it's very liquidy.
Cherry on My Sundae says
The sauce should be thick before you add the pasta water because heavy cream is the main liquid which is quite thick. Next time, you can add just half the amount of pasta water to start with and adjust it, adding more if needed.
Tillie says
It was a bit involved and very rich but the flavors were great!
Christine Ma says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Sarah says
So much flavor in this dish! Will definitely be making it again.
Christine Ma says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Breann says
This recipe was absolutely delicious and I’m a foodie!! This could easily be in a restaurant. My entire party was impressed! Followed the recipe exactly, just added a little more sage. Yum yum yum!!!
Christine Ma says
I'm thrilled that you and your party enjoyed it!
Jennifer Stone Grimes says
Hi. Nutritional info?
Christine Ma says
Sorry I don't have the nutritional information for this recipe at this time.
Heather Bailey says
this recipe is amazing. I will definitely make again. however it took a lot longer than 45m
Christine Ma says
so glad you enjoyed it!
Sally says
I absolutely loved this!!
So creamy and tasty.
The pine nuts were a special treat as well, I haven't added them before.
Thankyou!
Christine Ma says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Pam Shekell says
Great recipe! I Caramelize onions all the time but never used leeks to do so and it was so good.
Christine Ma says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Paula says
In the UK, we have dry, medium and sweet sherry. Which would be the best choice for this recipe? Thanks!
Christine Ma says
I recommend dry sherry. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Carol S. says
Absolutely delicious! I used button mushrooms as that’s what i had. Easy to follow recipe. Will definitely make it again.
Christine Ma says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Ellen says
10 out of 10, soooo good, probably the best pasta I’ve ever made. Will definitely be making this many times. Thank you!!!
Christine Ma says
Yay I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks for giving my recipe a try!
Mary says
Made the recipe and it was really yummy. My guests said it was a keeper. I wanted to print the recipe but even after adding my email address your site would not let me.
Christine Ma says
I'm so sorry about that! Let me look into this technical issue and see if I can get it resolved.