While recently visiting my mom and cousin, I cooked this dish, which has become one of my favorites since I created it about six years ago. I was sure I had blogged about it, so I referred my cousin to the website for the recipe. After checking, I found that although I have cooked this dish at least 50 times, it did not appear on my website. And then, I remembered the reason it had not.
This is a recipe that I created (but never consulted) because it is very forgiving. It doesn’t matter if you use more or less olive oil (as long as you have enough to create the “sauce”), nor does it matter if you add more or less mushrooms or spinach. If you don’t have Portobellos, you can substitute typical white mushrooms. And even though the Asiago makes this dish especially tasty, in a pinch, you could use Parmesan. You can even add meatballs (I have cheated by buying some amazing gluten-free ones at my local Sam’s Club*) if you choose. So, one reason this recipe has not been posted is that I hadn’t measured carefully to find out exactly how much of each ingredient I normally use.
Over the past few months, my boyfriend and I have invited friends for dinner. Each time, we have made this dish, and everyone has raved! My cousin took the recipe home with her and prepared it for her rather picky family. She was afraid that if she said it was gluten-free, they might not eat it. But even they loved it.
Mushroom and Spinach Pasta
1/2 cup olive oil (more as needed)
4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped fine
1 1b. Portobello mushrooms (large or baby Bellas), sliced
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
8 ounces quinoa spaghetti (I prefer Andrean Dream)
8 ounces Asiago cheese, grated fine
While mushrooms and spinach cook, boil quinoa pasta. (I cook it for 13 minutes even though it say to cook less.)
In a large (12-inch) skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and sauté lightly. Then, add sliced mushrooms (either baby Bellas or large ones). Sauté, stirring often until mushrooms are almost done, about 6-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
Add spinach to the mushrooms, stirring to coat with oil. Add more olive oil if needed as it functions as the “sauce.” Cook until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.
Serve mushroom/spinach mixture over pasta. Top liberally with grated Asiago cheese.
Yield: 3-4 servings. Freezes well (combine and freeze; omit cheese and add after food is hot).
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Besides the taste (which is good even if you can’t eat cheese—my boyfriend adds hot sauce instead), this recipe is so simple to prepare. You’ll be eating a restaurant-quality pasta dish in less than half and hour.
*Note: This is an unsolicited comment for which no commercial reimbursement was made.