Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Spinach & Goat Cheese Pasta

Kristin from Beauty Counter posted a photo of this onion mushroom pasta dish on her Facebook page the other day & I was inspired to try it although I didn’t follow the recipe exactly. I went off the ingredients that I had on hand plus a suggestion my cousin, Christy Ann made to add pasta water & goat cheese for a simple yet creamy pasta sauce.  Thanks for the inspiration ladies! I really liked what evolved from these ideas & I think you will too!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 3 cups mushrooms, sliced into 1 inch pieces (I used a mixture of baby portobellos  & shitakes)
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• 1 cup reserved pasta water (plus more in case needed)
• 3/4 lb mini farfalle (little bow ties) pasta (or which ever kind of pasta you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• Pecorino Romano  or Parmesan cheese, grated for serving

Make it!

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for pasta.
2. In the meantime slice your mushrooms & onions into similar shaped & sized slices. I use all of the mushroom parts - caps & stems but if you only prefer caps use them.
3. In large deep skillet (it should be able to hold all the pasta at the end) heat olive oil over medium heat.
4. Add onions & reduce heat to medium-low. Season with some salt.
5. Let the onions caramelize by allowing the edges to turn brown & wilt. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes.
6. Add sliced mushrooms. Cook down for about 5 minutes & then season with salt & pepper (I’ve heard that if you season mushrooms with salt right away they become rubbery - so wait until they get soft to season them).
7. In the mean time add the pasta & some salt to the boiling water, cook about 1-2 minutes less than the  directions instruct. You want it to cook until it’s just al dente - you’ll finish cooking the rest of it in the sauce & mushroom/onion mixture.
8. Add a ladle (about a 1/2 cup) of the starchy pasta water to the onion & mushroom mixture. Add the baby spinach & let it wilt. You may have to add the spinach in batches if it is too much to fit in the skillet. It’ll cook down a lot so you’ll be able to fit it all in. Season with salt & pepper.
9. Add the goat cheese & stir into the veggie mixture until it melts to create a sauce.
10. Make sure you have about 1 cup of pasta water reserved before you drain the pasta.
11. Add the drained pasta to the veggie mixture. 
12. Add about a 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta veggie mixture.
13. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
14. Add more pasta water if you want to thin out the sauce.
15. Serve hot with grated cheese on top.