Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Truffle Pasta
Truffle pasta offers a rich bowl of linguine with a fragrant cream sauce. Parmesan brings a salty edge to the buttery noodles, with a little wine in the background. If you enjoy a pronounced mushroom-like aroma in your pasta, this is a dinner worth sitting down to slowly.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 5
- Ingredients
- 10 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Save that pasta water
Before you drain the linguine, scoop out the pasta water. You may not need much, but it’s useful if the cream sauce tightens before every strand is coated.
2. Stop the pasta a little early
Boil the linguine one minute shy of the package directions. It finishes in the hot sauce, so it stays lively instead of turning soft while you toss everything together.
3. Let the wine cook off
After the wine goes in, give it the full few minutes so the liquid evaporates before the cream is added. That keeps the sauce from tasting thin or watery.
Get to know the ingredients
Linguine
Linguine is the right shape here because it catches the creamy truffle sauce well. Don’t rinse it after draining, since the surface starch helps the sauce hang on.
Truffle pate
The truffle pate goes in with the cream and Parmesan, not at the very end. Letting it warm into the sauce helps it spread evenly instead of sitting in little pockets.
Shaved Parmesan
Use the Parmesan in two places: stirred into the sauce to help it thicken, then more shaved over the bowls when you serve. Keep a little extra aside for that finish.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 5. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 11 steps completeMake room for Truffle Pasta
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
The last little job
Once the heat is off, stir in the last bit of butter, then toss in the pasta until it’s coated. Finish with more shaved Parmesan at the table or just before serving.
A little more help as you go
Cook the aromatics gently
The garlic and red onion need a few minutes in butter until the onion turns translucent. Stir them well so the garlic doesn’t sit in one spot and catch.
Thicken before tossing
Give the cream, truffle pate, and Parmesan a short simmer before adding the pasta. The sauce should have a little body, so it coats rather than pooling underneath.
A few questions you might have
Why shouldn’t I rinse the pasta?
Rinsing washes away the starch on the linguine. For this creamy sauce, that starch helps the sauce cling when you toss the pasta through at the end.
Do I add all the butter at the beginning?
No. Start with 4 tablespoons for cooking the garlic and onion, then stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon after turning off the heat.
Should the wine still be liquid before I add the cream?
Let it cook until the liquid has evaporated, as directed. Then add the cream, truffle pate, and Parmesan so the sauce can thicken properly.
When does the truffle pate go in?
Add it with the heavy cream and Parmesan, then bring the sauce to a simmer. That gives it time to melt into the sauce before the pasta is added.
What if the sauce seems too thick when I toss the pasta?
Use the reserved pasta water a little at a time to loosen it. The recipe has you save some before draining for exactly this kind of adjustment.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinnerthendessert.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
