Recipe: Spinach and Ricotta with Pasta Noodles

This easy recipe for Spinach and Ricotta with Pasta Noodles combines some of my favorite ingredients… obviously spinach, ricotta and pasta… but also Parmesan Cream, chopped pancetta and mushrooms.. the result?... absolutely delicious!

Supper time… a time for making decisions… using up miscellaneous ingredients and trying new things when nothing else sounds good…

I have always really liked the combination of spinach and ricotta… I’ve used it in numerous recipes… lasagna, stuffed shells, baked ziti and stuffed chicken breasts to name a few… so when I was trying to decide what to make for supper and after surveying the fridge and pantry… I decided to combine a few things that naturally go well together… and a new recipe was born… and a good one at that.

TIPS

This recipe will work easily with chopped bacon as a substitute for pancetta… the pancetta gives it a unique flavor.. while the bacon will give it a heavier more smokey flavor.. both are good…

The Parmesan Cream can be made thinner if you prefer a creamier casserole… you can also lower the fat by substituting a lower fat milk for the whole milk.

If you decide to use a 10 oz. box of frozen spinach instead of the 8 oz. of spinach called for in the recipe… be sure to make more Parmesan Cream to compensate for the additional spinach. You can always make an additional ½ recipe of Parmesan Cream… use as much of it as you like to get it to a good consistency and save the leftover Parmesan Cream for a quick lunch of Pasta and Parmesan Cream.

I hope you try this!






Recipe: Spinach and Ricotta with Pasta Noodles

All you need:

1 pkg. egg noodles, cooked
½ a bag (16 oz. bag) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 pkg. (4 oz.) chopped pancetta
1 pkg. (8 oz.) mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small container ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Parmesan Cream:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups whole milk
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste

All you need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Set aside.

To make the Parmesan Cream:

In a small pot, melt the butter over medium heat.

Add the flour and mix well… allow to cook for about 2 minutes to cook off the flour taste, stirring constantly so the flour doesn’t brown.

Slowly add the milk whisking constantly with a wire whisk.

Whisk the mixture vigorously to ensure it becomes velvety smooth.

Add the Parmesan cheese and mix well.

Add salt and white pepper to taste. Set aside.

To make the Spinach and Ricotta Mixture:

In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the pancetta and mushrooms with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the pancetta has rendered its fat.

Add the thawed spinach, ricotta, Italian seasoning and garlic powder...stir well.

Add the Parmesan Cream to the skillet.

To Assemble the Casserole:

Return the noodles to the pot you cooked them in and then add the contents of the skillet to them. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake the casserole at 350 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is slightly crisped and the casserole is bubbly.