Dish of Pasta with Spinach & Mushrooms
(click to enlarge)

Pasta with Spinach & Mushrooms


California
Makes
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/2 #
***
50 min
Most		 Spinach and mushrooms is a popular combination in much of the world. This easy dish can be a pasta course, or light main dish.




8
8
8
4
2
2
2
1/4
1
1/3
1/4
1
-----
ar
oz
oz
oz
cl
T
t
T
c
t
t
t
T
---

Pasta (1)
Spinach Leaves (1)  
Mushrooms (3)
Garlic
Butter
Sherry Vinegar (4)
White Wine (5)
Pasta Water
Chili Flake (6)
Salt
Pepper
Butter (more)
-- Garnish
Grated Parmesan
Do Ahead   -   (20 min)
  1. Float wash SPINACH and remove stems. Spin in a salad spinner. Bagged in plastic and refrigerated, this can be done up to 2 days ahead.
Prep   -   (15 min)
  1. Slice MUSHROOMS about 1/8 inch thick.
  2. Crush GARLIC and chop small.
  3. Grate CHEESE for Garnish.
Run   -   (35 min) This timing presumes overlapping cooking Pasta with cooking. Prep will also fit within this time.
  1. Bring plenty of Salted Water to a boil. Stir in Pasta. When al dente drain reserving 1/2 cup of the Water, return to the (now empty) pot and mix with a few drops of Olive Oil to keep it from sticking together. Set aside.
  2. Tear or cut Spinach coarse.
  3. In a wok or 3-1/2 quart sauté pan (see Comments), heat 2 T Butter. Fry Mushrooms over moderate heat until they start giving up their water.
  4. Stir in Garlic for about 1 minute seconds.
  5. Stir in Spinach and fry stirring until just wilted.
  6. Stir in Pasta, Vinegar, White Wine. and 1/4 cup Pasta Water. Season with Chili Flake, Salt, Pepper and 1 T Butter. Bring back to a simmer quickly. Stir in more Pasta Water if needed.
  7. Serve hot garnished with Grated Cheese.
NOTES:

  1. Pasta:

      The photo example was made with Penne Rigata, but other short pastas will work fine.

  2. Spinach:

      Weight is for leaves only, after removing stems. If you are short on leaves, fill out the weight with stems cut to about 1-1/2 inches (they are a little sweeter than the leaves) Put Stems in with the mushrooms for a little extra cooking time. In any case, don't discard stems - there are recipes on this site for Spinach Stems.

  3. Mushrooms:

      The photo example was made with regular white mushrooms, but criminis and king trumpets are suitable, cut as needed.

  4. Sherry Vinegar:

      If you don't have it and have to use some other Wine Vinegar, use a little less as Sherry Vinegar is more acidic.

  5. White Wine:

      This can be your choice. A dry Sherry is fine, or another White Wine, even one that is a touch sweet.

  6. Comments:

      A wok is ideal for this recipe due to the volume of Spinach Leaves before they are wilted down.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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