Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto

Mushroom zucchini pasta with crispy prosciutto.

5 from 4 votes

Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto

This Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto is a favorite pasta night in our house! The cream sauce starts with a base of caramelized onions, amazing flavor here! Meanwhile the zucchini and mushrooms roast in the oven, then prosciutto is draped over the top and baked until crispy. It all comes together with big shavings of Parmesan cheese and fresh thyme leaves!

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Calories: 790kcal

Author: Meryl Downing

Ingredients

For the Roasted Veggies

1 zucchini
8 ounces cremini mushrooms
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
10 grinds fresh black pepper divided
3 to 4 slices prosciutto sliced thin

For the Sauce

1 pound linguine pasta
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 cups pasta water reserved from boiling the pasta
1 handful fresh spinach
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
⅓ cup Parmesan cheese shaved

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425° convection bake (this means the fan is blowing which is good for roasting). Wash zucchini and cut off ends. Slice in quarters lengthwise, and then chop into 1 inch pieces. Wipe dirt from mushrooms and cut in half or quarters to be uniform in size. Toss veggies on a large sheet pan with 1 Tablespoon olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and half of the salt and pepper (pre-measure it so you can add it to the dish as you go). Bake 20 minutes.
Set water to boil and cook pasta until al dente. Set a timer, about 10 minutes for linguine. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta cooking water before draining!
Meanwhile, in a large skillet (large enough to hold the finished pasta dish) set over medium low heat, add 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add onion slices to caramelize with a pinch of salt and pepper. This means cook them slowly, over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until they turn golden brown in color. This will take about as long as the veggies take to roast.
After 20 minutes, when the roasting veggies are close but not quite done, take them from the oven and drape the prosciutto slices over the veggies. Return to the oven for 10 to 12 minutes to crisp the prosciutto and finish cooking the veggies.
When the onion has reached a golden brown color, add the garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
Add the cream, 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water, the spinach, thyme and any remaining salt and pepper to the sauce. Stir and simmer about 5 minutes over medium low heat to thicken.
When the cream sauce has thickened slightly, add the Parmesan cheese and the drained pasta and toss well with use tongs. Toss in about half of the roasted veggies and pieces of the crispy prosciutto to the sauce. Add the other half to the top of the finished pasta dish. Serve with more Parmesan cheese and fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

Use a measuring cup, ladle or coffee mug to pull out 2 cups of the starchy pasta cooking liquid before draining your pasta. Reserve it in a glass measuring cup, this will be used when making the sauce.
You will use 1 cup of the pasta water when first making the sauce. Save the other cup in case you need to adjust the consistency. After the sauce sits awhile, like when you come back for a second helping, it may have thickened too much and adding a bit of the pasta water will loosen it back up. You may need some of it, all of it, or you may not use it at all.

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