Spinach & Cannellini Roasted Garlic Rotini with Tofu

Press tofu (overnight if you can) so all liquid is removed. To do this, you can either use a tofu press or simply use dish towels and something heavy–like books. To do the dish towel method, fold a towel into fourths and place on a cutting board or baking sheet (anything that will prevent liquid from going all over your counter.) Next, place the tofu block on top of the towel. Fold another towel into fourths and place on top of the block, followed by a sheet of plastic wrap or aluminum foil (so your books aren’t damaged.) Place books or other heavy objects on top of the towel and let the liquid press out. The longer you leave it, the better.

Dice tofu into 1/2″ squares, spray with cooking spray and place in a Ziploc bag with garlic powder. Shake vigorously. Place onto a baking sheet and bake tofu at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, flipping the tofu pieces halfway through. When done, remove from oven and set aside.

For the garlic, you can either peel each clove (that’s what I did) or roast the bulb in peel. Either way, you want to wrap the garlic in foil and toss it into a 400 degree F oven for about 30 minutes. If you peeled it before roasting, all you have to do after the roasting process is toss it into the blender. If you chose to roast it in the peel, make sure you peel it after roasting. The garlic should be fork-tender.

Cook rotini pasta in a pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions. Then, rinse and set aside.

Saute red onion in a skillet over medium heat. When onions begin to soften, add vegetable broth and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Transfer onion and broth to a blender or food processor. Add the roasted garlic, salt and pepper and blend well. Set aside.

Saute spinach over medium heat in the same pan you used for your onion until it is slightly wilted.

Toss pasta, tofu, spinach, garlic onion sauce and beans in the same pot you used to cook your pasta. If needed, heat pasta over low heat until warm through. Serve immediately.

Nutrition information per serving: 380 calories, 56g carbs, 29g protein, 4g fat.