Mushroom Spinach Pasta with Crispy Guanciale
A delicious and easy Mushroom Spinach Pasta made with a creamy parmesan sauce and crispy guanciale. A simple pasta dish that's comforting, full of flavour and perfect for busy weeknights.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 14 oz penne pasta (400g/4 cups)
- 100 g guanciale
- 8 medium crimini mushrooms (chestnut mushrooms UK) thinly sliced (250g)
- 2 cups baby spinach (roughly 2 large handfuls/50g)
- ½ cup heavy cream (double cream UK) (120ml)
- ¾ cup Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated (30g)
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water (60ml)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Cut the guanciale into thin strips or cubes. Wipe any dirt from the mushrooms with a piece of kitchen paper and thinly slice them. Finely grate the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Make the pasta sauce
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
- Heat a large frying pan or skillet and fry the guanciale until it starts to brown and goes crispy. Spoon it out onto a plate and set aside.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente (about 8-10 minutes).
- Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt to the same pan the guanciale was in and fry for a few minutes until all the moisture from them has evaporated and they start to turn golden.
- Add the guanciale back to the pan with the mushrooms followed by the cream and ¼ cup (60ml) of pasta water. Simmer for for a couple of minutes and add the cooked pasta with the baby spinach.
- Toss everything together keeping it on the heat until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Turn off the heat and add the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, stir into the sauce then serve.
Video
Notes
- Clean your mushrooms - to clean your mushrooms cut off the bottom of the stock and wipe them clean with a damp piece of kitchen paper or kitchen towel. Do not wash them or submerge them in water.
- Reserve pasta water - adding starchy reserved pasta water helps add flavour and creaminess to the sauce (without adding more cream). Make sure to reserve at least 1/4 cup (60ml) before draining your pasta.
- Seasoning the sauce - Guanciale can sometimes be heavily salted some more so than others so it's important to taste the sauce before adding more seasoning.
- Variations - you can opt to add some fresh garlic (add it once the mushrooms are cooked for a few seconds) or use Italian sausage instead of guanciale or pancetta.
Nutrition
Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 223mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
