Ingredients
- 1 lb. whole-wheat pasta
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 cups fresh spinach, well-chopped
- half a lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded or cut into bite-sized pieces (*see tip below*)
- 8 oz. shredded mozzarella (or Italian blend) cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly-grated parmesan (optional)
- 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large cooking dish (I used a 9×13″) with cooking spray. Set aside.
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Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions, until it is just al dente (ever-so-slightly chewy). Drain pasta, toss with a glug of olive oil. Set aside.
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In the meantime, heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Saute the onions with a couple pinches of salt for a few minutes. Stir in garlic for one minute. Then add white wine, and stir to deglaze pan. Cook the mixture on the stove for another 5 minutes or so until it has reduced.
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Stir in spinach. Cook for just about 20 seconds, until the spinach collapses a bit. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Add to pasta and stir and stir – mixing extremely well, a minute or so.
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Add half of the pasta to the bottom of the baking pan, then sprinkle with some of the cheese, add more pasta, then more cheese. Finish with a thin layer of parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and melty. Serve sprinkled with the toasted almonds.