A creamy and cozy vegetarian pasta bake, perfect for a light, coloured and tasty pasta dinner. This easy pasta bake is chock full of spinach.
If you have any other greens on hand like kale then you can use that instead of the spinach - just make sure to chop into smaller pieces before cooking and discard the rough stems. Depending on the type of your green, for tenderness before baking, you may need to cook your green a little while longer.
– 12 ounces whole-wheat penne or rotini – 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened – 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard – 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus more for garnish – 1 teaspoon onion powder – ¼ teaspoon ground pepper, plus more for garnish
– ¼ teaspoon salt, divided – 2 ¼ cups half-and-half – 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil – ¼ cup chopped scallion – 10 cups packed fresh spinach (about 10 ounces) – 1 teaspoon grated garlic – 1 cup shredded fontina cheese, divided – 3 tablespoons lemon juice
heat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking dish using cooking spray. Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Following the directions on the package, cook the pasta. In a colander, drain thoroughly. Empty the pot.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together cream cheese, mustard, lemon zest, onion powder, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Whisk in the half-and-half gradually.
In pot heat oil over medium-high. Stir in scallions and remaining 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring constantly until scallions have softened about 3 minutes. Once the spinach is bright green and wilted, about one to two minutes, add the garlic and spinach and simmer, stirring often.
Remove from the heat. Stir in 1/2 cup of the fontina, the pasta, and the cream cheese mixture. Add the lemon juice and whisk until slow. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, top with remaining 1/2 cup fontina.
Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until warmed through and fragrant around the edges. Sprinkle with more pepper and lemon zest if desired.