Baked Shells with White sauce, Spinach Red Peppers and Mushrooms
Oh my goodness, this is so good I am embarrassed to say how much of it I ate! Tender pasta shells are coated in a creamy, slightly spicy cashew sauce reminiscent of Alfredo sauce, then tossed with juicy mushrooms, red peppers and spinach...yum yum. The baking part is optional, it's really so that everything gets nice and hot - but if you just can't wait you can pour the sauce right over the pasta and vegetables and dig in - the sauce will be a little thinner in consistency then if you had baked it, but extremely delicious nonetheless.
- 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes (1/4 tsp for a less spicy version)
- 2 cups Water
- 1 bunch Spinach, stems removed and thinly sliced
- 1 cup raw Cashews
- 3 large Garlic cloves. pressed
- 1 tbsp fresh Lemon juice
- 2 tsp Sea salt (add ΒΌ tsp for a slightly saltier version)
- 12 oz box of Small pasta shells
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 3 cups Mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1-2 tsp Mustard powder
- 1/2 small Red pepper, diced (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- Cook pasta shells according to directions on the package. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 F and have ready an 8 inch square baking dish.
- Make the sauce: Combine the cashews, water, salt, mustard powder, pepper and lemon juice in a blender and blend a few minutes until completely smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic, and let it sizzle for about 20 seconds. Add mushrooms, red peppers, rosemary and red pepper flakes, cook and stir 3 more minutes, until mushrooms are soft and have released their juices. Finally, add spinach and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes, until wilted.
- In a large bowl or in the pot the pasta was cooking in, combine the pasta shells with the sauce and spinach mixture and mix well. Taste for seasonings and transfer to your baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes until heated through. The sauce may have settled to the bottom during baking time so briefly mix the pasta right in the pan before serving. Serve immediately.