I’m writing about pasta… on Thanksgiving. What am I doing?! Well, being in London means I’ll get to celebrate Thanksgiving a few times, just not today. Instead of spending tomorrow morning in pajamas thinking about Black Friday shopping, I’ll be at work with everyone else here, waiting for the weekend to begin. So really, this dish is for everyone who can’t celebrate Thanksgiving today, for whatever reason, wherever you are.

This dish came to be one night when I had a pile of mushrooms to eat, and not a whole lot of spinach. (I actually made this to be 2 portions, but doubled the recipe for the blog.)

I love quick tomato sauces. They’re an awesome way to make a weeknight dinner that’s still homemade. I think most home cooks have a tomato sauce that they rely on, and the more often you make it, the more you learn how much you can play with it. This one could work with shrimp, or sausage or… well, lots of things.

Yummy, healthy, easy and versatile! Vegan, cheesy, meaty… this can be whatever you want it to be. Except maybe the main dish at Thanksgiving. Unless you’re really into pasta.

Serves: 4

On the Counter

200g button mushrooms, quartered
150g fresh baby spinach
2 cans (16 oz or 400g each) chopped tomatoes
1 lb (500g) linguine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
3 tsp raw or cane sugar
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

What to Do

Cook linguine in salted water until al dente. 

Saute onions in olive oil on low heat, cook til soft and translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add mushroom quarters and some salt.

Turn up heat to medium. Cook until mushrooms are golden and soft.

Stir in tomatoes, sugar and basil. Add more salt if needed.

Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until tomato sauce has thickened.

Take sauce off the heat and stir in spinach. Let it wilt for 2 minutes.

Serve atop linguine, with grated fresh Parmesan if desired.

As I’m writing about this, I kind of want more. Not kind of, definitely.