Baked Pasta Casserole

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter/oil a large casserole dish or baking pan - something roughly equivalent to 13x9-inch pan.

Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions.
Drain pasta, toss with a glug of olive oil.
Set aside.

In the meantime, heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high.
Saute the onions with a couple pinches of salt for a few minutes (or if you want a bit more depth of flavor until caramelized).
Stir in garlic.
Stir in spinach.
Cook for just about 20 seconds, until the spinach collapses a bit.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of the almonds and 1/2 of the zest.
Add to pasta and stir and stir - mixing extremely well, a minute or so.

Now sprinkle the bottom of baking dish with the rest of the zest.
Add a layer of the pasta to the bottom of the baking pan, now sprinkle with some of the cheese, add more pasta, then more cheese.
Finish with a layer of cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and melty.
Serve sprinkled with the remaining almonds.