This one was a GEM. Nice and easy, finished up under the broiler, and oh so good! Nice and cheesy just like a casserole should be, and that’s even using low fat dairy so it’s not a calorie splurge, can you believe it? I cut a whole huge 9x13 into 8 dinner servings and they were only 315 calories each!
A note on the spinach - how much?? Well. Lots! Fresh spinach really cooks down. I used two Sam’s Club bags of fresh spinach, and they were huge. Bulk bags. My original recipe called for 2 10oz bags. However much you like spinach. Get a lot.
BAKED FLORENTINE PASTA
Ingredients
16 oz Tinkyada pasta (if you need GF) - I used the spirals to soak up the sauce
4oz Neufchâtel cheese (that’s the lower fat cream cheese, use regular if you can’t find it), softened
3/4C grated Parmesan cheese (3oz)
A bit of ground nutmeg (I didn’t measure)
2C fat free half and half
1T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh spinach - how much? See note above.
2T flour*
4oz part-skim shredded mozzarella
Fresh parsley, for garnish
*NOTE ON THE FLOUR: if you’re GF, you want to use 1-to-1 GF baking flour or rice flour here. NUT FLOURS WILL NOT WORK.
Preheat your oven to 350. (I forgot this, as usual.)
Coat a 9x13 pan with pan spray. Coat it WELL. Cheese sticks.
Cook your pasta according to package directions, making sure not to cook it past al dente. You don’t want it getting mushy in the oven!
Drain your pasta in a colander and return the pot to the stove.
While the pasta is cooking, mix the cream cheese, Parmesan and nutmeg together as well as you can. I had to use the back of a spoon. Stir in the half and half. Set aside.
Back to the pasta pot you returned to the stove.
Add the oil and garlic, and heat until the garlic is fragrant. Add your spinach in batches, and stir until it’s all wilted. (I had to cover the pot and let some of it steam.) Add the two tablespoons flour, stirring it into the spinach until the spinach is coated and the flour pretty much disappears.
Remove from heat.
I moved it over to the other side of my stove.
Add the pasta back in - run some hot water over it in the colander if it’s started sticking together.
Add the sauce. Stir until everything is well mixed.
Now comes the tricky part: get all that into your 9x13 without spilling it everywhere.
Top with the mozzarella. Cover tightly with foil, and bake until heated through, 15-20 minutes.
Take the foil off and turn the broiler on.
Broil until browned on top - you can see my picture above! - about 4-5 minutes.
Take out of the oven and garnish with parsley to serve.
Servings: I got 8, but they were heaping dinner-size servings. It freezes well!
Calories: 315