Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake

Thursday, 20th August 2009

This dish owes its creaminess to a layer of tangy sour cream. Make it on a Sunday afternoon, and enjoy leftovers for another meal during the week. Or you can assemble the casserole, refrigerate overnight, and bake shortly before serving.

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Recipe: Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free marinara sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry.
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked farmer or mozzarella cheese.
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil.
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Heat marinara sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, and spinach, stirring until blended, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in cooked pasta.
Spoon half of pasta mixture into a 13″ X 9″ baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine sour cream, smoked cheese, and basil, spread over pasta mixture in dish. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over sour cream mixture, sprinkle evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Bake at 350 ° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Calories: 350 (25% from fat) Fat: 10.8 grams (saturated 7.5 grams) Protein: 19.1 grams Carbohydrates: 54.9 grams Fiber: 4.4 grams Cholesterol: 19 milligrams Iron: 2.5 milligrams Sodium: 419 milligrams Calcium: 310 milligrams

Cooking time (duration): 45

Diet (other): Low calorie

Number of servings (yield): 8

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 3.5 stars