Do you like cheese, meat, pasta, and the occasional vegetable?
Do you see something like “8 ounces of pasta can feed 4 people” and decide that’s a slight against God and nature?
Do you want to feel your arteries narrowing as you eat a meal?
Boy, do I have the recipe for you! And of course it involves my new best friend, the caramelized onion.
This recipe from Julia’s Album caught my eye because, from the outset, it sounded delicious. I usually don’t see caramelized onions in pasta dishes and I wanted to try it, but I thought it needed a little bit of…something.
A few years ago, I would have told you that meat is always the answer to the “what does this dish need?” question. Now that I am a very sophisticated person with an elevated palette, I have revised that answer: it is now cheese. Or onion. As previously discussed.
However, those bases are covered already, so why not meat? Why not a pound of sweet Italian sausage? Why not make this not only one of the best things I’ve ever made, but one of the heaviest?
If you’re looking for a creamy, cheesy winter dish, this is a good pick. You can, of course, omit the meat if you want, but then how do you know for sure whether you’ll be able to slip into a food coma that evening?
Creamy Farfalle with Spinach, Sausage, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions
I recommend multitasking for this recipe – getting other stuff done while the onions caramelize. It involves three pans altogether and using them at the same time is daunting, but DON’T PANIC. I believe in you! (Or, if that seems like too much, you can do it step-by-step. No one’s mad, but it will take a lot longer.)
Ingredients
- 2 yellow onions
- 8 oz (half a box) of farfalle pasta
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage meat
- 10 oz white mushrooms, sliced (or pre-sliced 8 oz)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 8 oz spinach
- 1 C half-and-half
- 1 C shredded Parmesan cheese, preferably fresh
- 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Begin the process of caramelizing the onions using the linked instructions. We want them at that lighter blond stage, not fully brown/crispy, so at least you won’t need to be at it for like an hour – I believe these took between 35 – 40 minutes.
- Once you get to the point in the caramelization process where you can put the heat on medium-low and only stir the onions every few minutes, begin to heat the water for pasta in a separate pot. When the pasta water is boiling, cook according to package instructions. Once the pasta is done, drain it and toss it with a little bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking to itself – you won’t need to use it again for a little while longer.
- After turning on the heat for the pasta water, heat a pan on medium-high and add in the sausage, crumbling as you add it in. Brown the sausage, pushing around with a spatula as needed. Don’t forget to keep stirring the onions every few minutes!
- Once the sausage meat is browned, remove from heat and put it on a plate. The onions should be close to done (here’s a photo of where mine were when the meat was browned to my liking.)
- Once the onions reach the correct color/doneness, remove them from the heat and put them on a plate.
- In the pan you used for the onions, heat the olive oil on medium heat.
- Add sliced mushrooms and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring, until mushrooms are soft.
- Turn the heat down to low. Add the minced garlic and spinach, stirring until the spinach begins to wilt.
- Add half-and-half to the mushroom and spinach mixture and bring to a quick boil. Immediately reduce to simmer.
- Add 1/2 C of shredded Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Keep stirring while the sauce simmers until the cheese melts.
- Add caramelized onions back to the skillet with the pasta sauce.
- Add the cooked farfalle to the creamy sauce. Stir on low heat for a couple of minutes to reheat and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the cream sauce to thicken.
Notes
Troubleshooting the sauce: if the sauce is too thick, add more half-and-half a teaspoon at a time to thin it out. If it’s too thin, add more shredded parmesan cheese as needed and stir it in while the sauce simmers. Wait for the cheese to melt before putting more in.
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