This pasta salad tastes great when it is freshly made and it also tastes great cold as leftovers. It comes together fairly easily and has a nice creamy texture.
Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 head garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 ounces shell pasta
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400º F.
- Peel off the loose outer layers of the garlic head. Leaving the head intact with all of the cloves connected.
- Cut about 1/4 inch off the top of the garlic head, exposing the tops of the garlic cloves.
- Place the garlic onto a piece of foil, big enough to completely wrap the garlic head. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the garlic head.
- Wrap the garlic head with the foil and roast for 40 minutes or until garlic is completely soft. Allow garlic to cool.
- Cook pasta according to package directions and drain reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Return the pasta to the warm pot with the burner off.
- While the pasta is cooking, squeeze the garlic cloves from the head and mince.
- In a medium bowl combine the minced garlic, ricotta cheese and fresh cracked pepper to the garlic. Add the 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, stirring until smooth.
- Pour the ricotta sauce over the noodles.
- Add the spinach and grape tomatoes to the pasta. Stir until well mixed.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over top and season with additional black pepper, if desired. Stir to mix and serve warm.
Serves: 8
Calories: 320
Total Fat: 7.7g
Saturated: 3.3g
Polyunsaturated: 0.3g
Monounsaturated: 2.1g
Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 19.2mg
Sodium: 126.8mg
Potassium: 162.1mg
Total Carbs: 48.2g
Dietary Fiber: 2.8g
Sugars: 2.7g
Protein: 15.5g
Vitamin A: 30.5%
Vitamin C: 21.4%
Calcium: 20.2%
Iron: 15%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.
*Adapted from Budget Bytes.
