Photo: Baked Ricotta and Spinach Rigatoni Recipe
This is a one pot, one dish meal. If you can get your hands on smoked mozzarella versus the regular stuff, you'll take the flavor to the next level.
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups milk
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 8 ounces smoked or fresh mozzarella, grated
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook rigatoni for 5 minutes in a pot of boiling, salted water. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.
To make the bechamel sauce:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic. Sweat the shallots and garlic for a few minutes until softened and but not colored. Add the flour and stir until a smooth paste forms. Gradually whisk in the wine and then the milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, to taste. Let cool slightly.
Transfer cooled bechamel to a large mixing bowl and add the spinach, ricotta, and eggs. Mix in rigatoni and transfer to a greased 9 by13-inch baking dish. Top with grated mozzarella. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned on top, the center is no longer runny, and the sides are bubbly.
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By Delyse Duminy S.A.
Cape Town
on September 16, 2011
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My family loved the recipe - made 2 batches because my one son has to eat gluten free. So when making the sauce I did add extra spice & parmesan for flavour, & used fresh spinach not frozen. Couldn't get Smoked Mozarella, but did get Smoked Goats Cheese & it was equally good & full of flavour. To everyone wanting to "throw" this recipe away - try it with your choice of seasoning added before you do that. This is a good basic recipe. It's a keeper.
By Marita Alonso
West Covina, Ca...
on August 07, 2011
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Good idea to add the cheese.
By mariastacy2002_...
Baltimore, MD
on May 20, 2011
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I just took this out of the oven, and it is sooo good! I read the comments about blandness before I made the dish, so I substituted one cup of chicken stock for one of the cups of milk and added parmesean cheese to the "bechemel" sauce, and sprinkled in Italian herb mix to the ricotta spinach mixture. There are a number of layers of flavor, though none are too strong, overall I'm a huge fan-
Read all 47 reviews