Baked Pasta E Fagioli

8 oz. whole grain penne
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28-oz. can tomatoes in puree
2 15-oz. cans small white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
Pepper
1 1o-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat large saucepot of water to boiling on high. Add pasta and cook 2 min. less than package directs.

Meanwhile, in 4-qt. saucepan on medium, heat oil. Add onion and celery, and cook 9-10 min. or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 min. Drain tomatoes; reserve puree. Chop tomatoes.

Into mixture in saucepan, stir tomatoes with their puree, beans, broth, and 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper; heat mixture to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium; stir in thawed spinach.

Reserve 1/4 c. pasta cooking water. Drain pasta; return to saucepot. Add bean mixture, reserved cooking water, and 1/4 c. Romano; toss until well mixed. Transfer mixture to 3-qt. glass or ceramic baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining Romano. Bake pasta 15 min. or until center is hot and top is golden.

Serves 6.

From Potluck Favorites (Good Housekeeping magazine), p. 9.