One-pot pasta with mushrooms, apples and leeks in mountain cheese and mustard sauce

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 180 g pasta, e.g. fusilli
• 300 g mushrooms, white
• 150 g leek(s)
• 1 m.-large onion(s), red
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 apple, Granny Smith or similar sour apple
• 600 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml milk
• 75 g crème fraîche
• 100 g mountain cheese
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp mustard, medium hot
• 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
• ¼ tsp chili flakes
• 2 tbsp parsley, flat
• ⅛ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 2 tbsp oil for frying
• Salt and pepper, black, coarsely ground

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

vegetarian

Clean and slice the mushrooms. Wash and slice the leek. Peel the onion and slice into strips. Peel the garlic and press or finely chop. Wash the apple, quarter it, remove the core, and then cut the apple into pieces. Finely dice the mountain cheese. Finely chop the parsley. Spread the mushrooms in a deep, non-stick pan and fry them dry over high heat for about 4 minutes until they lose their liquid. Reduce the heat to medium. Pour oil into the pan, stir, and heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Then add the apple pieces to the mushrooms with soy sauce and maple syrup and let them caramelize for about 2 minutes. Then add the leek and mustard, stir briefly, and deglaze everything with the vegetable stock. Sprinkle in the chili flakes and bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add the raw pasta and cook with the lid on over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid. Add the crème fraîche, then the milk and smoked paprika, stir briefly until smooth, and then scatter the cheese cubes over the pasta. Melt the cheese while stirring. Only after the cheese has melted, increase the heat again, add the parsley, bring to a boil, and cook for about 1 more minute, until the sauce is slightly creamy and the pasta is al dente. Season the dish with freshly grated nutmeg. Add a little more salt to taste, although the vegetable stock, soy sauce, and spicy mountain cheese should already provide enough flavor. When serving, garnish the dish with chopped parsley and coarsely ground black pepper. Notes: I used fusilli here, which cooked for about 11 minutes. A crisp, acidic Granny Smith apple goes best with this dish, providing the necessary acidity. The addition of crème fraîche and milk cools the contents of the pan slightly, preventing the cheese from clumping while melting. Those who prefer a spicier flavor will want to add more black pepper, as the peppery note complements the dish perfectly. If possible, you should also coarsely grind the black pepper over the dish at the end. Thanks to the smoked paprika and spicy cheese, even non-vegetarians won’t miss the added bacon or similar.