Penne Pasta with Creamy Mushrooms and Taleggio Cheese

Looking for a unique, savory, creamy and cheesy pasta to make for dinner? Here is the recipe for you!

Taleggio is a semi-soft Italian cheese with a strong aroma and delicate flavor. I love the combination of this cheese with the earthy taste of mushrooms.  Porcini mushrooms would be my first choice, but any type of mushrooms would actually do with this recipe.
I used the same two ingredients with crepes some time ago. Do you remember that recipe? You can find it here. Today's recipe is a pasta, penne or other short pasta can be used. The cheese is melted with a white, delicate besciamella sauce, and mixed with the mushrooms. You will not be disappointed by the scrumptious flavor of this pasta. It tastes at least as delicious as it looks!

Ingredients: serving 4

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove (crushed or minced)
• 8 oz (225 gr) of mushrooms, cleaned and cut in pieces
• 4 oz (110 gr) of taleggio cheese
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 8 fl oz (250 ml) of milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 14 oz of penne pasta

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Directions:
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and start cooking the pasta when it boils.
Step 2: In a large skillet, saute' the crushed (or minced) garlic clove in the olive oil for one minute. Add and saute' the mushrooms cut in small pieces over medium heat. After about 5 minutes add the parsley and salt to taste.

Step 3: In a separate sauce pan, melt the tablespoon of butter and about 1/4 cup of milk over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for about one minute.Whisk in the rest of the milk a bit at a time, until the white sauce is nice and smooth. Salt to taste.

Step 4: When the pasta is almost cooked, add the white sauce and the taleggio cheese cut in pieces to the skillet with the mushrooms. Mix and let the cheese melt completely over low heat.

Step 5: Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!