Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce

Here's another healthy recipe from Moosewood. I rarely eat cottage cheese (okay I don't think I've eaten it even once in probably 10 years) so I wasn't sure how this would turn out but I was really happy with the dish. The low-fat cottage cheese makes the sauce creamy while adding lots of protein and not much fat. And I discovered that yes cottage cheese does taste good! Especially if it's in the large curd form. Anyway I guess this dish could be thought of as a kind of creamy pesto. Next time I'll add something else to it like sauteed mushrooms or some extra chopped walnuts. The only bad thing is that it's not very good reheated.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Black Bean Chilaquile
Soba Noodles with Zucchini Ribbons
Spinach Walnut Pesto
Portabello Fettuccine with Spinach Pesto, Roasted Peppers & Romano Cheese

Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

My adaptations were small - extra garlic (2 instead of 1 clove), 300 grams frozen spinach instead of 10 ounces fresh, less salt, and freeze dried basil instead of fresh (though the fresh basil can easily be replaced by a tablespoon or so of dried.)

300 g frozen spinach
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup freeze dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 lb pasta

1 head broccoli (optional extra vegetable)

Bring a large covered pot of water to a rapid boil.

If using fresh spinach, wash it and steam it. (Cover and cook the spinach on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, until wilted but still bright green, drain.) If using frozen spinach, thaw in the fridge (if you have that much foresight!) or in the microwave. Drain. In a food processor or blender, combine the spinach, walnuts, cottage cheese, garlic, Parmesan, basil, and salt and puree until smooth, working ni batches if necessary. Add pepper to taste and set aside.

When the water boils, stir in the pasta, cover and return to a boil. Then uncover the pot and cook until the pasta is al dente, about 7 minutes. While the pasta cooks, cut the broccoli into spears, blanch it in boiling water to cover until just tender, about 5 minutes and set it aside. Alternately, steam the broccoli. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Add several steamed broccoli spears.