Spaghetti Florentine in Gravy sounds kind of fancy.  Doesn’t it?  I did not know what else to call this dish so I described it best as I could.  I think I have mentioned how into pasta making I am.  These noodles are my first foray into using semolina flour.  The true Italian way to make pasta is with semolina flour or what the Italians call double zero flour.  Each of these flours is finer than all-purpose flower.

I could sure tell the difference.  I loved the texture on this spaghetti.  The noodles had bite to them.  I hear this word used frequently on cooking shows and now I know what they mean.  These spaghetti noodles were perfect for this fairly light dish.

I also really like a gravy.  A gravy is developed by simply adding flour to the sauce in the dish.  I choose to make a very simple roux – a little butter and flour and then add it to the sauce at the end of the cooking process.  By making a roux, the flour taste is cooked out and it is a perfect thickening agent.

The Recipe

Spaghetti Florentine in Gravy

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A pasta dish flavored with mushrooms, shallots, tomatoes, spinach, basil and a gravy made by adding a roux.

Prep15 minutes mins

Cook1 hour hr

Total1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings6

Scale

1x2x3x

Ingredients 

• ▢ 2 cups semolina flour
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ▢ 2 tablespoons water
• ▢ 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
• ▢ 4 ounces spinach, fresh or frozen
• ▢ 6 ounces mushrooms, any kind but earthier the better
• ▢ 2 shallots diced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs stir-in paste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons basil stir-in paste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons oregano stir-in paste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons parsley stir-in paste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions 

Pasta

• Put the flour, eggs and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a stand mixer.
• Mix the ingredients. Use the water if the flour is not coming together into a ball.
• If the dough comes away from the sides, it is ready.
• Knead by hand for a few minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Using the Kitchen Aid attachments, stretch the dough and then cut it into spaghetti.
• Pour the pasta into boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside. Reserve 1 – 2 cups of the pasta water.

Florentine Sauce

• Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.
• Once warm, add the shallots and mushrooms and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and spinach. Mix and cook for 1 minutes.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add in some of the pasta water. Enough to create a sauce.

Roux

• In a separate skillet, heat the butter.
• Once melted, add the flour and mix until absorbed.
• Add the roux to the vegetable mixture.
• Pour the pasta into the vegetable mixture.
• Mix well and serve.

The making of the pasta from the flour, to the mixing to the dough ball and finally to the cutting.

The vegetable sauce all mixed, and then the pasta added to finish the dish.

The Spaghetti Florentine in Gravy plated.