Penne Pasta with Lima Beans and Spinach - MBP event - January 2007

Here is my second entry to Coffee's MBP for January 2007. This time it is from the Italian cuisine. I came across this recipe from Lakshmiammal's blog. We eat a lot of pasta and this one was a variation with lima beans and spinach. While I have used spinach to make stuffed shells, this is the first time I used lima beans in a pasta dish. It tastes delicious and is very nutritious too. Click here for the original recipe. Given below is my recipe with a few variations.

Ingredients
1/2 pound of mini penne pasta
1/2 cup of frozen spinach
1/4 cup of lima beans
1 medium sized onion
1 tsp garlic paste
1 cup pasta sauce
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
Fat free cooking spray
Salt to taste
Olive oil as needed

Method1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions and set aside. Pour a teaspoon of oil and mix well so that it does not stick together.
2. Pour oil in a pan and sauté the onions and garlic.
3. Next add the thawed spinach and lima beans and sauté till soft.
4. Add the red pepper flakes and pasta sauce and cook well till it starts bubbling.
5. Lower the flame and add the half and half and mix well.
6. Transfer the reserved pasta into the pan, add salt and mix to coat well with the sauce. (If you have already salted the pasta water then reduce the salt at this stage).
7. Spray an oven-safe dish with the fat-free cooking spray and transfer the pasta mixture into the dish.
8. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 425 degrees till the cheese melts or a little long till it becomes brown. (I usually wait till the cheese browns, but I pulled out earlier this time as my daughter was getting hungry).

Pasta mixture topped with the mozzarella cheese

9. Serve hot.

Pasta straight out of the oven with the cheese melted and bubbly

Serving size - 1 cup
Number of servings – 4