Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

A lazy meal for midweek that tastes like spinach and ricotta stuffed shells or cannelloni - but without all the labour! Feel free to use your favourite store bought pasta sauce if you prefer. Reheats well and freezes well too!

INGREDIENTS

• 300g / 10 oz ziti pasta, uncooked, or other short pasta of choice
• 1.5 cups (150g) mozzarella cheese , shredded (or more!)

RICOTTA MIXTURE

• 1 lb / 500 g ricotta (Note 1)
• 1/2 cup (50g) parmesan cheese , grated
• 2 garlic cloves , crushed

Spinach & Ricotta Pasta Bake

• 350g / 12oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid pressed out
• 1 cup (100g) grated Mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 tsp salt & pepper

SHORTCUT PASTA SAUCE

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 24 oz / 700g tomato passata (1 standard bottle) (Note 2)
• 1 tsp EACH onion and garlic powder
• 2 tsp dried Italian Mixed Herbs (Note 3)
• 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes , to taste (optional)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• 2 tbsp water (if needed)

TO SERVE

• Parmesan cheese , grated

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
2. Pasta Sauce: Pour out about 1/4 cup of the passata (to make room to add flavourings). Add the remaining Pasta Sauce ingredients into the bottle, screw the lid on and give it a shake.
3. Cook pasta for time per packet MINUS 1 minute. 
4. SCOOP OUT 1 mugful pasta cooking water, drain and set aside.
5. Ricotta Mixture - Mix Ricotta Mixture ingredients in a very large bowl. Use a splash of pasta cooking water if needed to make it creamy.
6. Add pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof baking dish.
7. Top with Pasta Sauce, top with cheese. Loosely cover with foil.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
9. ................

Source Detail Recipes Here

Share this post