This dish was so good! Using ground pork instead of ground turkey or beef added a different flavor and texture, and the pork itself left virtually no grease in the pan when I cooked it, so I didn’t even rinse it before moving on to the next steps.
We also tried the Barilla ProteinPlus Pasta for this meal and could not taste a difference. WIN! Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!
Ingredients:
1lb ground pork
3/4lb penne pasta
2 jars Bertolli organic pasta sauce (I used olive oil, basil & garlic)
1, 8oz package Bel Gioioso mozzarella pearls
2 cups fresh spinach
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2T butter
1/3 cup pasta water
olive oil
salt & pepper
Directions:
Move rack to upper position and preheat oven to 450.
In an oven-safe pan, brown pork, crumbling as it cooks.* Drain excess grease. Add salt and pepper. Add butter, both jars of sauce, pasta water (see below) and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add spinach and pasta. Stir. Add mozzarella.
*While pork cooks, bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta 5 minutes less than package directions. Reserve 1/3 cup pasta water before draining.
Transfer pot to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and mozzarella is melted.
Divide and serve.
Enjoy!
