Fall Pasta with Mushrooms & Spinach

Everyone needs a good fall pasta recipe in their back pocket.

This garlicky mushroom pasta is a favorite dish from my time spent living in Italy and it’s just perfect this time of year. This recipe is restaurant style and quality, but made with everyday ingredients. It’s packed with juicy, golden brown mushrooms and spinach, and is guaranteed to please the entire family. The smell of the garlic, the intensely flavored gravy released from the mushrooms, the savory parmesan cheese, and the aromatic sage…

It’s just too good.

Don’t underestimate that little bit of the pasta cooking water. A small amount of the starchy pasta water enhances and acts as a thickener and creates a silky sauce for the dish, eliminating the need for heavy cream. It’s rich and meaty, yet won’t weigh you down.

Fall comfort food at its finest.

Pappardelle Pasta with Mushrooms and Spinach

16 ounces papparedelle pasta (or your favorite pasta)

4 cups mixed mushrooms (portobello, cremini, shiitake and/or button mushrooms)

1 whole garlic bulb

1 cup packed baby spinach

⅓ cup white wine (or vegetable broth)

⅓ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (or nutritional yeast for vegan option)

6 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Red Chili flakes

Optional Garnish: Crispy Sage Leaves (see below)

Chop the top of the garlic bulb, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and wrap up in aluminium foil. Roast in the oven at 400°F for approximately 30 minutes or until the garlic is soft and fragrant.

While garlic is roasting, wipe down all the mushrooms and chop them into roughly the same sizes. Sauté in olive oil, once browned, season with salt and pepper and thyme leaves. Then add the white wine (or veggie broth) and allow it to reduce slightly. While mushrooms are cooking, cook the pasta in salted water until it’s almost fully cooked. Making sure to reserve some pasta water (at least 1/2 cup).  

Remove the garlic bulb from the oven, allow to cool slightly then squeeze out all the garlic into the pan with the mushrooms.

Mix by adding the baby spinach and cooked pasta into the mushroom and garlic. Add a good splash of pasta water (start with 1/4 cup) and mix it through adding more pasta water until you reach your desired consistency. Sprinkle with chili flakes and grate in the parmesan cheese and it’s ready to serve! Garnish with crispy sage leaves if desired.

*For Crispy Sage Leaves*

Whole sage leaves (as many as you like)

Extra-virgin olive oil, enough for a light coat on the bottom of a skillet

Coat the bottom of a skillet with a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil, heat until shimmering then add sage leaves in a single layer. Watch them closely as it only takes about 30 seconds or so for them to crisp up, then remove them with a slotted spoon. Put them on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat in batches until all sage leaves are crisp