(Recipe can be found on the site Julie’s album here.)
Step by Step Instructions:
Creamy Mushroom Fettuccini with Caramelized Onions and Spinach will be on the table in no time with the following items: Salt, 10-15 small mushrooms (I went with Baby Portabellos), Fettuccini (8 ounces), Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, 3 medium-large onions, Parmesan Cheese (I freshly grated mine, which I’d definitely recommend), Fresh Spinach (about 3 cups), Milk, and Heavy Cream.
Begin by prepping your veggies. I removed the ends and cut the 3 onions in half. Then I peeled off the outer layer and sliced the onions lengthwise as you see above.
Then I wiped the tops of the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and remove the stems. Once that was done I sliced the mushrooms.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat.
Then add all of the onions to the hot oil and carefully stir constantly for about 10-14 minutes or until beginning to brown.
Here are the onions after about 14 minutes of cooking over high heat. You can see they have started to brown but are not burning. Turn the heat to medium-high heat and continue stirring constantly for at least another 10 minutes.
In a second skillet heat another tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Add the sliced mushrooms and a pinch of salt to this pan.
Then stir the mushrooms up and cover. You’ll want to cook the mushrooms for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. I think I stirred every 5 minutes or so.
Now I got the pasta cooking and followed the package instructions to cook it.
After the onions have cooked for a total of at least 20 minutes you’ll notice they’ve gotten a deeper brown. And the smell…oh the smell! Turn the heat down to low or medium and cook for an additional 10 minutes. You don’t have to stir as frequently now. Just make sure that they don’t stick to the pan or burn.
While everything was cooking along, I grated the Parmesan cheese. You’ll want 1 cup plus a little extra for topping the pasta later.
After 30 minutes or so, the onions will be a lovely brown color and will smell amazing.
Remove the skillet with the onions from the heat and add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Stir it up and be sure that all the bits of the bottom of the pan have been scraped up and the the onions are coated in lovely vinegar!
The mushrooms should be well cooked now…
…so add them to the onions.
Then add about 3 cups of fresh spinach to the pan, and carefully stir.
Keep stirring until the spinach has wilted nicely.
Now add 1/3 cup of milk, 2/3 cup of heavy cream, the cup of grated Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the mixture.
Stir the ingredients together and heat over low heat. It was at this point that I knew this dish was going to be a winner.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce…
…and toss the pasta with tongs. Make sure the pasta gets coated in the sauce and heat for 5 or 10 minutes over low heat. Then guess what…you’re done! Serve the pasta up to your favorite people topped with some grated Parmesan cheese, and they will be a very happy group! Happy caramelizing my friends!
Makes 4 Servings
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 onions, medium or large, sliced
Salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
10 or 15 small mushrooms sliced (I used shiitake with stems removed)
3 cups spinach
8 oz fettuccine pasta
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation Instructions:
1. Start off by caramelizing the onions. To do that heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Once the oil is heated, add the sliced onions and cook on high heat for at least 10 minutes. Use a spatula and make sure you’re constantly stirring. You’ll find that the onions will begin browning but should not be burning (hence the stirring a lot).
2. Once the onions have started to brown, turn the heat down to medium and cook the onions for 10 more minutes, stirring constantly so onions continue to get brown without burning.
3. While the onions cook, work on the mushrooms. In a separate pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Stir and cover the pan and heat for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Start cooking 8 ounces of fettuccini according to the package directions and drain.
5. After at least 20 minutes of cooking the onions, turn the heat to low or medium-low and you can start stirring less frequently but ensuring that the onions aren’t burning or sticking to the pan for an additional 10 minutes. All totaled, the onions will have cooked for at least 30 minutes. When they are nice and brown and caramelized, remove the skillet from the heat and add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan. Mix the onions and vinegar so that the onions are coated and the pan has had all the bits scraped from the bottom.
6) At this point the mushrooms should be cooked so add them to the pan with the onions onions, followed by 3 cups of spinach. Combine the ingredients carefully and continue stirring until the spinach begins to wilt.
7) Once the spinach has wilted nicely, add in 2/3 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup of milk, about a cup of grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan and heat over medium-low combining the sauce.
8) Finally add the fettuccini to the sauce, and stir with tongs so that the pasta is coated and the dish is combined. Continue heating over low heat for 5 or 10 minutes, and then serve! You can sprinkle with more grated Parmesan cheese if you’d like.
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I am glad you liked my recipe! It looks so good – better than mine! 🙂 Make me hungry!
I loved it, Julia! I’m still wishing I hadn’t devoured the leftovers so quickly!