Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms

For my birthday this year, my husband got me one of those pasta makers that you hook up to your KitchenAid stand mixers.  I had a pasta roller previously, and made pasta on occasion, but I could never figure out how to crank the dang thing and hold on to my pasta.  Which means he had to help.  So I'm pretty sure he got me this one so I could do the whole thing myself while he sat on the couch.  He's a smart boy.

Anyway, it worked like a charm!  I was especially pleased by the pasta recipes that came with the instruction manual - not for the recipes themselves, but for the directions.  I have always done the traditional make a well with the flour, break the eggs into it, etc., but these directions just said to put everything in the stand mixer bowl and use the dough hook.  I personally couldn't taste the difference and it was SO much easier.  (Somewhere, someone's Italian Grandmother is rolling over in her grave... but not mine.  First, because she's not dead.  And second, because she's all about saving time!).

So I made basically the equivalent of fettuccine, which came out very nicely, and I had enough left over to freeze about three servings - so we'll see how that works out later.

The salmon itself was not caught or grown locally, but it was processed locally at Rushing Waters.  Apparently the grocery store "can't" sell their smoked trout, which is local.  The guy working behind the fish counter didn't want to elaborate.

Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms

• Pasta (about two servings worth)
• Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1-2 cloves garlic (I found more local garlic!! YAY!!)
• 1/2 lb. mixed mushrooms
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup white wine - preferably something a little more acidic, like a pinot gris
• 4-5 big handfuls spinach, chopped roughly
• 1 fillet smoked salmon, skin removed and chopped roughly
• 3 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
• Salt and pepper

 Cook the pasta according to the directions (or make your own.  It's not so hard!)  Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in a large frying pan.  Add mushrooms and cook until they just start to brown.  Add butter and white wine, and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and add spinach, stirring until spinach is wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add pasta and salmon and stir to combine, until pasta is nicely coated and the salmon is warmed.  Add goat cheese and stir once more.  The goat cheese should just start to melt, but should not blend totally into the sauce.

Top with freshly ground pepper if desired.

If I would have had them, I would have added tomatoes to this as well.  They would have added color and a nice texture.  Next time!

Total non-local ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Wine