Baked Penne Florentine

By mommypop

Ingredients

• 8 oz dried whole wheat penne
• 1 10-oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 15-16 oz can great northern beans, navy beans, or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs

Details

Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 70mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to hot pan. Add spinach; toss to combine. Spoon into a 2-qt casserole; set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine vegetable broth, onion, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place cashews in a food processor. Cover and process until finely ground. Add half of the water; blend until smooth. Add onion mixture, beans, lemon juice, mustard, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the remaining water. Stir bean mixture into pasta mixture in casserole. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until crumbs are toasted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.