Spinach and Mushroom Pasta

Posted on 11 Nov 2011 - by Katkat In: Operation: Julie and Julia

Spinach and Mushroom Pasta

Every time we ran out of cooked rice at home, I would decide to make a pasta dish instead of cooking rice. I would end up doing a spaghetti because it was the easiest and basically almost the only pasta that I know to cook from memory. Anyway I deviated from this tradition when I saw a wilting spinach and shiitake mushroom in the ref. I better cook these two items before it completely spoil.

So I researched a recipe apt for these ingredients and I came out with two versions. Why two? Because the first original version, I didn’t like how it turned out. It was bland (mainly due to the fact I forgot to add salt). My guinea pigs didn’t like it either. So for lunch the following day, I made a different version. I didn’t use milk and just saute it with olive oil. It was remarkably better than the first recipe.

Spinach & Mushroom Pasta

    12 ounces spaghetti noodles
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 cup onion, chopped
    1 tablespoon fresh thyme
    4 cups mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced (oyster, shiitake, cemini, portobello etc…)
    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    2 cups milk
    2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed well & chopped
    1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
    1 teaspoon salt
    fresh ground pepper
    freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In large non-stick pan over med-high heat, cook garlic, onion& thyme in oil for about a minute.
2. Add mushrooms, cook about 8 minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to brown& their juices begin to run.
3. Sprinkle with flour& stir about one minute, then slowly begin to add the milk, and bring to the boil, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
4. Stir in the spinach, basil, salt & pepper & cook until the spinach begins to wilt.
5. Toss sauce with cooked pasta& grate fresh parmesan cheese over individual servings.

The original recipe called for rotini pasta. I didn’t have that so I just substituted it with spaghetti noodles. I couldn’t find cheap fresh thyme so I skipped that one. For the mushroom, I only had shiitake. I added cooked bacon bits into the pasta because I wanted it to be a fuller dish. (Our family can never be vegetarians). When I tasted the dish for the first time, I was surprised of how bland it was. I discovered that I forgot the salt so I immediately rectified this. I used fresh milk which had a hard time thickening so I can suggest use half and half (as suggested also by other reviewers). I didn’t taste much of the basil and spinach flavor. It was overpowered by the milk. My bacon also sagged because of cooking it in the milk. Next time I’ll remember to toss the bacon into the pasta before serving.

For me I liked the dish very much after putting salt in it. However my 2 guinea pigs (my brother and mom) vetoed it. Since I still had leftover spinach, basil and mushroom, I cooked the same ingredients again the following day for our lunch meal. This time I omitted the milk and just sauteed everything plus the bacon in olive oil before tossing it with my al dente spaghetti noodles.

This got a passing grade. I got to taste the flavor of the spinach and basil better this time. So I was glad that I had another pasta dish in my cooking repertoire.

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