Baked Pasta with Spinach, Lemon, and Cheese

We made this recipe as Cooking Light described (trying a vegetarian meal every once in a while won't hurt us, after all), but it definitely needs some chicken (probably cubed and stirred in). Otherwise, it had good flavor and is a good way to pack in the spinach (FYI, the recipe only called for 5 ounces, but we doubled it to 10 ~ Yum!)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=50400000110461

Casarecce pasta is a short noodle with a curled edge that provides a large groove to hold the creamy sauce. If you can't find it, use fusilli, campanelle, or radiatore. Use a large, deep pot for the pasta so the spinach will fit inside, as well.

Total: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
10 ounces casarecce pasta or fusilli (short twisted spaghetti)
10 ounces fresh baby spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 minutes or until almost al dente, omitting salt and fat. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Let stand for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain pasta mixture well.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; cook 15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk and wine; cook 8 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and rind. Remove from heat; stir in pepper. Add pasta mixture to onion mixture, and toss gently to coat.
4. Spoon the pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle half of panko breadcrumbs over pasta, and top evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Sprinkle the remaining half of panko breadcrumbs over cheese. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 396
Fat: 8.2g (sat 3.5g,mono 3.1g,poly 0.5g)
Protein: 18.4g
Carbohydrate: 63.3g
Fiber: 4.9g
Cholesterol: 17mg
Iron: 3mg
Sodium: 611mg
Calcium: 325mg