Punpkin, Spinach & Yoghurt Pasta Bake

I finally got over my week-long viral thing and had the energy to do some proper baking and cooking. I made a trail-mix banana bread yesterday and tried a new dinner recipe today. It is adopted from the Almost Cheeseless Pasta Casserole from 101 Cook Books. I really like this website because the recipes are really creative and healthy. It has got a very wide range of recipes from salad and soup to sweets and drinks. Sometimes it does come up with funky recipe like "the tofu burger" but overall the dishes are quite do-able. The photography is amazing and the recipes are easy to follow.
I have made pasta bake before but this is quite different. The white sauce is based on yoghurt, instead of cream, so the whole dish is infused with the sourness and the milky taste of the yoghurt. I found it quite clever to sprinkle lemon zest on the baking tray. If it was directly incorporated into the sauce the flavour would probably be too strong. The olives, almonds and cheese give this dish a lot of different texture and flavours.
I have reduced the quantity of the pasta by a massive degree but still ended up with a HUGE dish. It is originally suggested as a side dish but I had it as a main meal (and now I am stuffed!!!)

Pumpkin, Spinach & Yoghurt Pasta Bake

zest of a large lemon
300g dried wholemeal penne
1.5 cup butternut pumpkin, chopped into 2.5cm cubes
80g frozen spinach
1 cup plain natural yoghurt
1 egg
3 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup silvered almond
1/3 cup olives, torn into pieces
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1) Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Grease a baking dish (which I forgot to do!). Sprinkle with lemon zest and set aside.
2) Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the pumpkin cubes into the pasta water. In the last minute, add the frozen spinach and separate with a fork. Quickly and carefully drain away the pasta water. Run cold water over the pasta, pumpkin and spinach to stop them from cooking. Shake off any excess water and set aside.
3) While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the yoghurt, the egg, garlic and salt and set aside. Once cooked and drained, mix together the pasta-pumpkin-spinach mixture with the yoghurt mixture. Stir in half of the almonds until evenly distributed. Scoop everything into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with olives and ricotta cheese. Baking for 30 minutes
4) Remove from oven. Sprinkle with the remaining almonds and season with salt. Enjoy!

Serves 6 as a main

Pasta bake

Banana bread