Adapted from the amazing thugkitchen.com. This can easily be both vegan and gluten free, and is definitely delicious.
Tofu-artichoke sauce
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup almonds (slivered will blend best)
1 can (14 oz) water-packed artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained
1 box (12 oz) silken firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Spinach
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow or sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 cups baby spinach
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pasta
1 pound penne pasta (gluten free if you wish)
1 jar (3 cups) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta according to its package directions.
In a food processor or strong blender, blend the tofu-artichoke sauce ingredients until smooth (a few little chunks of almonds might stick around, but that's ok). This will take a while. You can add some water, one tablespoon at a time, if it won't blend.
Cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic, cook for one minute. Add spinach and salt. Cover with a big lid, and cook (stirring often) until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and take spinach mix off the heat.
In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, spinach mix, and tofu-artichoke sauce and stir until totally mixed.
Line the bottom of an 8x8 (or bigger) baking dish with one cup of tomato sauce. Pour pasta mixture over the sauce. Pour remaining two cups of tomato sauce on top of pasta and spread it around with a spoon or spatula until evenly distributed across the top of the pasta. Sprinkle last two tablespoons of nutritional yeast over the top of the dish.
Cover your baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake for 10 more minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.
