Gouda Penne With Spinach

Submitted by LARavenscroft

"A different twist on macaroni & cheese. This is reminiscent of spinach dip with pasta added. This recipe can be made Gluten Free by using a Gluten Free pasta."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 8 ounces penne (I used Gluten Free Pasta, slightly undercooked)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 7 ounces gouda cheese, shredded
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan, over low heat being careful not to burn the butter.
4. Saute sun dried tomatoes and shallots in melted butter until shallots begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
5. Stir in corn starch and salt.
6. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
7. Gradually add milk, blending well.
8. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce is slightly thick, about 3-4 minutes.
9. Add shredded Gouda cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.
10. Combine pasta, spinach and cheese sauce.
11. Pour into a greased 1 ½ quart casserole.
12. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
13. Bake 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbly.

Reviews

[Lalaloula]

WOW, what an awesome recipe! It is sooooo tasty with the spinach and cheese being such a lovely match! I loved how easy this was to prepare and how great it turned out! Mmmm, we all enjoyed it so much! :)<br/>I made a few slight changes due to what I had on hand: I used two fresh tomatoes instead of the dried ones and simply sauteed them a tad longer to evaporate the juices. Then I only had 1 1/3 cup of milk left, so thats all I used and it turned out creamy and perfect. With the shallots I added in a clove of garlic and next time would double that. <br/>I also reduced the butter to 1 tbs and used a light version, which was no problem at all.<br/>THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this superb recipe with us, Lori! Ill certainly make it again!<br/>Made and reviewed for Potluck Tag Game January 2011 and the Warm me up Event in the Diabetic Forum.

 

[Karen Elizabeth]

Absolutely wonderful! Not only did I love it last night, it was even better today for my lunch! Instead of butter, I used some olive oil in which I had previously marinated garlic and chillies, which added a lovely little tang to this dish, and because I had cooked spaghetti in the fridge, I chose to chop it up and use instead of penne, and I'm glad to say that it worked well. I subbed one cup of cream for one of the cups of milk, calories, who needs 'em, ha ha!! Thank you for a very indulgent pasta dish that I enjoyed immensely!

 

[bluemoon downunder]

A very tasty dish. I'm not overly fond of sun-dried tomatoes, so I omitted those and in step four, sauteed a diced red pepper, and two cloves of chopped garlic with the shallots. I also added some cumin in step nine. I used low-fat milk. The blend of flavours was great. Thank you for sharing this recipe, LARavenscroft. Made for the Aussie Forum's MAKE MY RECIPE.

 

[Mom2Rose]

Aussie Swap19: Yum - a flavorful and filling pasta!

 

[Kim127]

This was loved by all who ate it. I made this while friends were visiting from out of state and I needed a vegetarian dinner. Served with a salad and some crusty bread. Fantastic. My guests went back for seconds!! All the flavors mesh so well! Thanks for a wonderful change to the normal mac and cheese.