Sun-dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta (no cream, vegetarian)
Lightened-up and incredibly delicious Sun-dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta made with milk (NO CREAM). Perfect on a Special Ocassion.
Servings: 5 servings
Equipment
- Spider Strainer
Ingredients
- 16 ounces whole-wheat penne pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 2 cups spinach
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 cloves
- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes stored in olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter I like Kerrygold
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 cups whole milk 2% reduced-fat works too
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt to taste
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup starchy water
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
Instructions
Prep
- Start by boiling a pot of water for the pasta.
- Slice baby bella mushrooms.
- Chop spinach, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes (squeezing out the oil).
Cook
- Heat a dutch castiron on medium heat. Add olive oil, once hot, add crushed red pepper flakes. Saute for about 30 seconds.
- Add sliced mushrooms. Saute for 4 minutes.
- This is what you should have.
- Add the pasta to the boiling hot water. Season with salt. Follow the instructions on the back of the package. I prefer whole wheat pasta, however, regular white or gluten-free pasta will work too.
- Now add the chopped spinach to the mushrooms. Stir. The spinach will take about 1 minute to wilt.
- Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add unsalted butter.
- Once butter melts, add whole wheat flour (Indian flour works too).
- Stir the butter and flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Now VERY SLOWLY, add whole milk (2% reduced-fat milk will work too) to the veggies while stirring the veggies into the milk mixture. Make sure you add the milk slowly to avoid curdling.
- Continue adding milk - you'll need 3 cups total.
- Season with salt and add black pepper.
- Allow the milk mixture to come to a slight boil. You'll see bubbles starting to form.
- Add the pasta to the sauce.
- Give it a good stir.
- Add parmesan cheese and starchy pasta water. The starch will help thicken the sauce and help the pasta cling to the sauce.
- Top with fresh basil. Stir.
Enjoy!
- Serve hot. It's incredibly delicious! Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 581kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 573mg | Potassium: 1245mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 2079IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 332mg | Iron: 3mg