Pasta Gratin with Spinach and Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 400 g penne pasta
• Salt
• 300 g fresh spinach leaves
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1 Shallot
• 1 Garlic clove
• 300 g brown button mushrooms
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped oregano
• 3 eggs
• 200 ml whipping cream
• 100 ml Vegetable broth
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• Nutmeg (freshly grated)
• butter (for the dish)
• 125 g shredded mozzarella cheese
• oregano (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until very firm. Rinse with cold water and drain. Wash, strip, trim hard stems from the spinach and let it drain. Blanch the spinach briefly in boiling salted water, then rinse and squeeze out excess moisture. Boil the tomatoes in hot water to loosen skins, peel, core, and dice finely. Peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic. Clean the mushrooms and quarter them.

2. 2.

   Preheat the oven to 220°C (428°F) with both top and bottom heating.

3. 3.

   Sauté the shallot and garlic in hot butter until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook briefly. Mix in oregano, spinach, tomatoes, and pasta; remove from heat. Whisk together eggs, cream, broth, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Grease a baking dish and pour in the pasta mixture. Pour the egg-cream blend over it and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

4. 4.

   Serve garnished with oregano if desired.