Pasta with Creamy Spinach Walnut Sauce

From Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. I used regular cottage cheese and a bit more basil, and it tasted really good. You can store the sauce in the fridge for a while and make the pasta in batches to suit your tastes.



Ingredients

10oz fresh spinach (washed)
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 (or more) fresh basil
1/4 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 lb pasta

Instructions

1) Bring a large covered pot of water to a boil.
2) Wash and steam spinach - cover and cook the spinach on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, until wilted but still bright green. The water on the spinach leaves should be enough, but if it looks like it's burning, you can throw a little water.
3) In a food processor or blender, combine the spinach, walnuts, cottage cheese, garlic, Parmesan, and basil, and puree until smooth, working in batches if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
4) 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. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce.

The recipe recommends eating this with steam broccoli.