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Baked Rigatoni with Ricotta and Greens
Jan. 14th, 2007 07:42 pmThis recipe is written for collards with the option of kale or spinach. I'm writing it with kale, because that's what I used.
1 1-lb package of rigatoni, mezzi rigatoni or penne
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 lb kale, washed, drained and chopped (I use prewashed chopped greens, but I rinse/drain them one more time)
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella (I use part-skim)
1 cup ricotta (I use part-skim)
2 t sugar
2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 t red pepper flakes
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 c shredded parmesan
1. Cook pasta, drain, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 or equivalent pan.
2. Heat butter in a deep pan or pot (a deep skillet will do but isn't as easy), saute onion 5 minutes until soft and just brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Turn down to medium and add greens. Cover and cook 15-20 min or until greens are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover greens. Sprinkle flour on greens, and cook 1 minute. Add milk gradually, stir thoroughly. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and smooth. Mix in pasta, mozz, next 5 ingredients.
4. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle parmesan on top; bake at 350 for 15-20 min.
I'll update this post and add my notes once we've tasted it; it just came out of the oven. While the greens were cooking I premixed the mozz + next 5 ingredients in a separate bowl, and started dipping pieces of pasta into it, because it was so tasty. I have a feeling this recipe might be a keeper, since it's a rich baked creamy pasta that includes greens.
Tasting notes: not only is it good the first time, it's good reheated, which is how I'm enjoying it now. I expected it to be sweeter, like the mixture of cheeses, sugar and spices were while I was dipping into them. The kale still has a lot of texture. I think I only steamed the kale for 15 minutes; I will probably go the full 20 so it's more wilted, next time, and if you really want your greens to be unobtrusive, do spinach instead. This is not as sweet as a macaroni and cheese, but it has more character. The nutmeg is absolutely necessary, the red pepper flakes can be halved if you're heat-averse, but drinking milk, beer or cider with this will give you the bits of heat _and_ a safety net.
1 1-lb package of rigatoni, mezzi rigatoni or penne
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion chopped (about 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 lb kale, washed, drained and chopped (I use prewashed chopped greens, but I rinse/drain them one more time)
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded mozzarella (I use part-skim)
1 cup ricotta (I use part-skim)
2 t sugar
2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 t red pepper flakes
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 c shredded parmesan
1. Cook pasta, drain, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 or equivalent pan.
2. Heat butter in a deep pan or pot (a deep skillet will do but isn't as easy), saute onion 5 minutes until soft and just brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Turn down to medium and add greens. Cover and cook 15-20 min or until greens are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover greens. Sprinkle flour on greens, and cook 1 minute. Add milk gradually, stir thoroughly. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and smooth. Mix in pasta, mozz, next 5 ingredients.
4. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle parmesan on top; bake at 350 for 15-20 min.
I'll update this post and add my notes once we've tasted it; it just came out of the oven. While the greens were cooking I premixed the mozz + next 5 ingredients in a separate bowl, and started dipping pieces of pasta into it, because it was so tasty. I have a feeling this recipe might be a keeper, since it's a rich baked creamy pasta that includes greens.
Tasting notes: not only is it good the first time, it's good reheated, which is how I'm enjoying it now. I expected it to be sweeter, like the mixture of cheeses, sugar and spices were while I was dipping into them. The kale still has a lot of texture. I think I only steamed the kale for 15 minutes; I will probably go the full 20 so it's more wilted, next time, and if you really want your greens to be unobtrusive, do spinach instead. This is not as sweet as a macaroni and cheese, but it has more character. The nutmeg is absolutely necessary, the red pepper flakes can be halved if you're heat-averse, but drinking milk, beer or cider with this will give you the bits of heat _and_ a safety net.
