Mushroom and Sundried Pepper Pasta

Last week we bought a big bag of mushrooms for 99 cents off the discount produce rack. Even after some very mushroomy pasta sauces for lunches throughout the week, we still had a bunch of them hogging space in the crisper. So, I created this dish to clean up the fridge before shopping day tomorrow. The result was fantastic. The chopped mushrooms make for a hearty sauce that does not rely on TVP or fake meat. Actually, it got me thinking that mushrooms would make an excellent base for a bolognese sauce, which I plan to try next time there are mushrooms on the discount rack.

INGREDIENTS

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1 large onion, finely diced

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 25 white mushrooms, chopped

- 1 tsp dried basil

- 1/2 tsp thyme

- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

- freshly ground pepper

- 1 cup sliced sundried red peppers (or sundried tomatoes)

- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (plus more for garnish)

- cooked pasta, like rotini

METHOD

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Saute onions for 8-10 mins, until lightly golden brown. Add garlic and saute 1 min.

2. Add chopped mushrooms, spices, and salt and cook for about 10 mins, until mushrooms are soft, and have released their water.

3. Add peppers and parsley and cook about 5 mins, until peppers are heated through and flavours have developed.

4. Serve over hot cooked paste and garnish with parsley.