Baked Spinach and Ricotta Rigatoni

 

 

 

Baked Spinach and Ricotta Rigatoni
Adapted from Food and Wine


Ingredients:

• 1 pound rigatoni
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 10-ounce package of frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
• 2 cups (~1 pound) of whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups (~6 ounces) grated fontina cheese
• 5 tablespoons Romano cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste 
• Optional Additions: handful of basil leaves, 2 tablespoons garlic, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and oil a large baking dish/casserole.
2. Cook pasta according to package instructions in salted boiling water.
3. Place the drained spinach, ricotta, Romano, nutmeg, salt, pepper (and additional mix-ins if using) into a blender and pulse into blended. Stir in Fontina.
4. Stir cheese sauce mixture into cooked pasta. Pour into greased casserole dish. Top with extra Romano (Fontina too if you have it) and drizzle with olive oil. 
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious, trademark Alton Brown).

If you know me you know that I love nothing better than a good ol' pasta bake. They're all just fancy adult versions of mac and cheese, plus you get the best of both worlds: creamy, melt-y, cheesy goodness, married with the rare delectable crunchy bits on top. This cheese sauce is made in the blender which means minimal mess and clean up, and it's just begging for a few personal additions of your choosing (garlic, basil leaves, and pepper flakes all sound good to me!) Just pop 'em in the blender and buzz away! What a clever way to trick yourself into eating your veggies!