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I’m sharing another family recipe with you all today, a dish that was my all time favourite thing my Mum made when I was a kid (bonus points if she made her chocolate mousse for afters!), and something I still love it when she makes for me now: say hello to our Pork & Mushroom Pasta Bows! It’s a really quick and simple pasta dish great for busy weeknights, utilising ground pork, mushrooms, fresh basil and an easy white wine and butter sauce that tastes delicious brought to the table with a shower of parmesan on top.
Oh, and while I’ve made this to serve two (because there are only two of us at home) the original recipe which I think must have been adapted from an early 2000’s edition of BBC Good Food Magazineserved four it can easily be doubled. Also: we were a family of three growing up, if three people are who you’re serving, all you have to do is double the sauce adjust the pasta accordingly and you’ll get extra meat sauce! Honestly, it is a super versatile weeknight pasta dish to serve any number of people I’m sure you’ll love to have to hand as much as we do.
Unlike other pasta recipes I love to make extra of for leftovers like my Turkey, Spinach & Tomato Pasta Bake that reheats beautifully, or my Pasta with Spring Greens & Spinach Pesto that is equally as delicious cold, this one really is best eaten as soon as it is made (with the rest of the bottle of white wine if it’s a Friday night!) so keep that in mind when you’re planning next weeks dinners!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use different pasta shapes in this recipe?
I do think pasta bows work best, but you can happily sub in any short pasta shape like fusilli, radiatori and rigatoni if you wish.
Can I use dried basil instead of fresh?
It really is the fresh basil that makes this dish; I can’t actually think of a single dish made better by the addition of dried basil!
This easy recipe for Pork & Mushroom Pasta bows combines a handful of simple ingredients with a white wine and parmesan sauce for a quick and easy weeknight pasta dish the whole family will love!
Ingredients
Scale
large knob unsalted butter
1 tbsp light oil
110g (4 oz) chestnut mushrooms
freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
200g (7 oz) minced (ground) pork
1/2 tbsp plain (all purpose) flour
1 large garlic clove
large handful fresh basil
150ml (2/3 cup) white wine
175g (6 oz) pasta bows
large handful freshly grated parmesan, plus extra for serving
Instructions
Melt the butter with the oil in the bottom of a large lidded shallow casserole dish or frying pan over a medium high heat. Peel and slice the mushrooms before cooking them with a little seasoning for 5 minutes or so until tender and just starting to brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the pork and fry for 6-8 minutes until cooked through and starting to brown. Stir in the flour and garlic, peeled and crushed, and cook until aromatic. Season well with salt and pepper.
Roughly chop the basil and add half to the pan along with the white wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low, clapping on the lid and simmering for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water as per the packets instructions. I usually start checking for doneness around the 14 minute mark.
Drain the pasta, setting a little of the pasta water aside. Season the sauce to taste and stir in the pasta, the cooked mushrooms and the parmesan. Check the seasoning again, and gradually stir in a little of the cooking water if the pasta seems too thick if there is not enough sauce.
Check the seasoning once more before stirring in the fresh basil just before serving.
Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled, and to serve just three people double the sauce and adjust the pasta accordingly.
I'm a food writer, professional recipe developer and cookbook author living in the English Countryside. I love creating easy, accessable recipes filled with vibrant world flavours that are manageable on busy weeknights. Simple and delicious dinners, from my kitchen to yours!
One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
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