Baked Pasta With Spinach Lemon And Cheese Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mist a 2 to 2 1/2-quart rectangular or oval baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook according to package directions for al dente.
• While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a medium pot set over medium heat. Add the fennel seeds and garlic and cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil sprig, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, lowering the heat if the sauce bubbles too vigorously, until the sauce has thickened slightly, the flavors have blended together and the raw tomato taste has cooked out, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, discard the basil and season with additional salt and pepper. Pour over the cooked pasta and toss well to coat. Add the cubed mozzarella and transfer half the pasta to the prepared baking dish.
• Put the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the shredded mozzarella and Parmesan and pulse two to three times. Combine half the cottage cheese mixture with the spinach and mix to break up the spinach. Drop in spoonfuls over the pasta in the baking dish. Top the spinach layer with the rest of the pasta and then the remaining cottage cheese mixture.
• Bake until bubbly and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes, and then scatter the torn basil over the top.

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute garlic in butter until tender. Add the spinach, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted., Drain pasta. Add to skillet; toss to coat.

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the pasta water, then set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
• Add about one-fourth of the cooked pasta to the pan, followed by one-fourth of the spinach, one-fourth of the Parmesan, one-fourth of the lemon juice and one-fourth of the lemon zest, stirring all the time until the spinach has wilted, about 1 minute. Continue this process of adding the ingredients in quarters, with additions of pasta water as needed if the mixture becomes too dry, until the pasta, spinach, Parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest have all been added.
• Sprinkle over more Parmesan and season with freshly cracked black pepper. Toss until everything is well coated. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed.