Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad

Im a total garlic junkie.  Like, I put garlic powder on popcorn.  It only seemed logical to make something pretty garlicky for lunch.  I know it's a faux pas to eat something that potent with smell at work but, I stopped caring about that long ago.

Recipe from Budget Bytes.

Yields 8 servings.

300 calories per serving.

INGREDIENTS

1 head garlic

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 box whole wheat pasta

15 oz reduced fat ricotta cheese

Garlic pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 pint grape tomatoes

3 c baby spinach

DIRECTIONS

Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 inch off the top of the head of garlic.

Place bulb in a bowl & drizzle olive oil over top of exposed cloves.

Cover the bowl with a plate.

Microwave on high, in one minute increments, until garlic is soft and fragrant.  (This took me about 2 minutes.)

Remove from microwave & allow garlic to cool.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the pasta, & cook for 10 minutes.

Reserve 1/2 c of pasta water.

Squeeze garlic cloves from the head & mince well.

Add the garlic to a medium bowl with ricotta cheese & a large amount of pepper & the salt.

Add the reserved pasta water & stir until smooth.

Turn off the burner, drain the pasta & return to the pot.

Add the spinach & pour ricotta cheese over top.

Add tomatoes & stir well.

Top with parmesan cheese & stir again.

This was so, so tasty.   I had my roommate try a noodle & she thought the same.  I have to once again rave about how much I love the website I got this recipe from.  I altered some of the ingredients so that this dish is a little healthier but, in general, the gal that runs Budget Bytes really does an excellent job!  If you want tasty & inexpensive, she's the go-to blog!