Pasta with mushroom sauce and spinach

Although spring is finally here, the nights are still chilly, so my mom and I wanted something warm for dinner. I was in the mood for pasta, and I thought a mushroom sauce might be a nice way to use up the baby bellas in the fridge. But every recipe I looked at used tons and tons of cream, and I didn’t want something that rich. Finally I found this recipe by yesiwantcake, and with a few modifications it made for the perfect creamy-yet-light pasta dish. I used up all the mushrooms I had, but if you have more than I did I’d recommend loading it up!

Pasta with mushroom sauce and spinach
Adapted from yesiwantcake

3 cups pasta
2 tbsp butter
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 shallots
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
2 cups spinach
parsley, for garnish

1. Cook pasta. I used farfalle but anything with some texture–penne, fusilli, etc.–would be great.
2. While pasta is cooking (or after pasta is cooked if you only have one working stove burner like me), put a large saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter in it.
3. Add mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are soft.
4. Add the white wine vinegar, milk (I used skim), and flour, and cook for another ~5 minutes, stirring frequently so the flour doesn’t make the sauce become lumpy.
5. I love adding spinach to pretty much everything, so I loosely chopped a couple of handfuls and stirred it into the sauce. If you don’t have fresh spinach, you could use frozen; just make sure to defrost it first so the liquid doesn’t dilute the creaminess of the sauce.
6. One the spinach begins to wilt, toss the sauce with the pasta and serve, garnished with chopped parsley.

The recipe I adapted this from called for parmesan on top as well, which I totally forgot, but to be honest I don’t think it was even needed. Then again, there are few times when cheese isn’t needed, so put some grated parmesan on top if you want.