Italian Zucchini Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
- 3 cups uncooked penne pasta
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 packed cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1½ cups sliced zucchini, ¼ inch thick half-moon shapes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1⁄4 cup Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked and mashed (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp fine salt
Instructions
- Add the cashews to a bowl and cover with water. Soak them overnight and drain them. This is necessary so that the cheese sauce does not turn out gritty.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta and 1 tsp of salt. Important to flavor the pasta. Cook 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 13x9 casserole dish with nonstick spray, otherwise, the pasta will stick badly to the dish.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Add ½ cup water, soaked cashews, cooked potato, lemon juice and salt to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides a few times. Do this repeatedly until 100% smooth and no bits of cashew remain. It should be very thick and creamy.
- The cheese sauce will taste a bit salty out of the blender, but will mellow out during baking and be perfect in the final dish.
- Drain the cooked pasta, but do not rinse. Add the pasta to a large bowl.
- To the bowl, add the marinara sauce, chopped basil, zucchini, oregano and pepper flakes. Stir well until fully incorporated evenly.
- Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared dish. Dollop the cheese sauce all over the pasta and spread out as desired. Sprinkle extra oregano and pepper flakes on top of the cheese, if desired, for an extra kick of heat.
- Bake 30 minutes until bubbly and the cheese on top is firm and just slightly starting to brown on the tips.
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