Foodie Friday : Linguine with lemon, garlic & thyme mushrooms

This is one of my all time favourite recipes - it is from Nigella Lawson's 'Nigella Express' cookbook, and express it is!  I am not a huge meat eater - sometimes I crave it and then I'll eat it, but I am just as happy with a really tasty vegetarian meal, and this one fits the bill!  One of my best friends is vegetarian and this is what I make her whenever she's feeling down or in need of some TLC, it always puts a smile on her dial :)

Here is the recipe as it appears in Nigella's book, which is perfectly delicious as it is:

Ingredients:

225g chestnut mushrooms (I usually just use button mushrooms)
80ml extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tsp salt
1 small clove garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 sprigs of fresh thyme (I use lemon thyme)
500g linguine
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
2-3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan or to taste
freshly ground pepper

Method:

1  Slice the mushrooms finely and put in a large bowl with the oil, salt, crushed garlic, lemon juice, zest and thyme leaves

2  Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain loosely, retaining some water.  Quickly put the drained pasta in the bowl with the mushroom mixture.

3  Toss everything together well, then add the chopped parsley, grated cheese and pepper to taste, before tossing again, and eat with joy in your heart! :)

I love this recipe just as it is, but my husband does not like mushrooms so firm and prefers them a little softer.  If you prefer it that way too, you can put a little of the olive oil in a pan, fry the garlic then toss the mushrooms in for a couple of minutes, and its just as good.  Here is how it looked after I made it last night...

Yummy!!!  I always add way more mushrooms than the recipe says (good way to get that vege count up) and I didn't have linguine at hand, so I just used spaghetti.  And as another variation, I really LOVE a bunch of fresh asparagus in it too (I just didn't have any to put in last night).  A sprinkle of chilli flakes works well too :)

Hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as I do - this recipe proves that sometimes the simple things in life are the best!

Bye for now :)