Healthy Pesto Baked Rigatoni

• Vegetarian

• Produce

  • 1 cup Basil
  • 3 large cloves Garlic
  • 2 cups Heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 cup Kale
  • 1 Lemon, Juice of
  • 2 cups Spinach

• Condiments

  • 1 Pesto

• Pasta & Grains

  • 1 lb Rigatoni, whole wheat

• Baking & Spices

  • 1/2 tsp Salt

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1/2 cup Olive oil

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 3/4 cup Almonds or pine nuts

• Dairy

  • 1/2 cup Cheese
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan or asiago cheese

• Liquids

  • 1/2 cup Water

Found on pinchofyum.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 lb. whole wheat rigatoni
• 2-3 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup shredded cheese of choice (I used Asiago)
• pesto (recipe follows)
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup kale
• 1 cup basil
• ¾ cup almonds or pine nuts
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup Parmesan or Asiago cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 large cloves garlic
• juice of 1 lemon (optional)

Directions

• Bring a large pot of water to boil. While the water is boiling, chop up the tomatoes - I just cut the little ones in half. Add the past to the water and cook according to package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, place all the pesto ingredients in the food processor until smooth. You may have to push the spinach down periodically to get everything moving. I had to do this in two batches because my food processor is very small. You should end up with 2 heaping cups of pesto.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cooked noodles with the chopped tomatoes, pesto, and enough water to make it a little saucy. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Cover loosely with well-oiled aluminum foil and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.