I believe the first time I made brisket pasta was about three years ago when I was trying to clear out my fridge. I had some mushrooms, kale, an onion, a lemon, some Parmesan, and three-day-old brisket. I didn’t realize tossing together these seemingly random ingredients would turn into one of my best-loved pasta recipes!

I can’t quite express what makes this dish so deeply satisfying. I think it’s all the flavors of my childhood brightened up with lemon, salted up with parmesan, and made extra comforting with the addition of good old carbs. It’s really special to me and I hope you love it!

Note: My preference is using oyster mushrooms for this pasta. They’re the easiest-to-find wild mushrooms. They have a meaty texture that holds up well during cooking and a really subtle, almost almondy flavor. With oyster mushrooms I remove the bottom if it feels too tough, and then tear them into bite-sized pieces. If you’re going to be using button mushrooms or any similar store-bought mushroom just cut them into bite-size pieces, about ½ an inch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound dried pasta (I love rigatoni or reginetti)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• ½ yellow onion, diced

• 1 tablespoon + ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 pound mushrooms, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces 

• 3 cups kale, stems removed and cut into 1-inch strips

• 2 cups brisket, torn into 1-inch pieces

• 1-2 cups brisket braising liquid

• 3 tablespoons reserved pasta water 

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

• 2-4 tablespoons shaved parmesan 

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

LET’S COOK:

1. Start by boiling water for your pasta. Grab a large stockpot, fill it halfway with water, and bring to a boil over a high heat

2. Add the olive oil to a large pan, something big enough to hold your pasta once it’s cooked, and set over medium-low heat. When shimmering, add the onion and saute for 5 minutes  

3. Once the onions are translucent, add the mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt. Increase the heat to medium and stir occasionally until the mushrooms have reduced in size and all extra liquid is evaporated and absorbed, about 5-7 minutes

4. Add the kale and cook until it’s wilted, which should take another 5 minutes

5. Add the brisket and brisket liquid and cook for 3 minutes. Stir well and turn the heat back to a medium-low

6. Your pasta water should be rapidly boiling now. Add the remaining tablespoon of salt to the water and toss in the pasta. Stir well and cook al dente per the instructions on the packaging

7. Once the pasta is al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta water and put aside, then strain the pasta over the sink into a colander. No need to rinse off the pasta!

8. Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to the sauté pan then add the pasta. Give it a really good stir to evenly distribute the sauce. Sample your sauce and if you’d like it to be saltier or saucier, add more pasta water to taste. Before serving the pasta add the lemon juice and give it another stir

9. Ladle into four bowls, topping each bowl with a generous amount of parmesan and red pepper flakes, if desired! 

[SERVES 4]

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