Ricotta and spinach are a vintage aggregate in Italian cooking, particularly as a stuffing for ravioli. It additionally works nice with a ‘purple’ tomato sauce, which means that a tomato sauce this is combined with both cream or white sauce (besciamella). You might want to make ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach and serve them with this type of purple sauce. Right here I’ve grew to become it into lasagna as a substitute. This can be a very sublime dish (should you serve a modest portion) with a wondeful velvety taste and texture.
I used to precook contemporary pasta sheets for making lasagna, however have attempted it with out precooking, and so long as the entire pasta is roofed with sauce, it’s going to cook dinner within the sauce. It’s much less paintings and I desire the the feel this is rather extra al dente.
Substances
Serves 4 to six as primo piatto
- 675 grams (1.5 lbs) contemporary spinach
- 3 eggs, 1 of them separated
- 225 grams (1 1/2 cup) Italian 00 flour
- 250 grams (1 cup) ricotta
- 1 can (400 grams/14 ounces) peeled tomatoes
- 100 grams (1 1/3 cup) freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, divided
- freshly grated nutmeg
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 50 grams (4 Tbsp) butter, divided
- 25 grams (2 1/2 Tbsp) flour
- salt and freshly floor black pepper
Directions
Make contemporary pasta dough the usage of 2 eggs, 1 egg white, and about 225 grams of Italian 00 flour, in keeping with my directions. Wrap the dough in hold movie and make allowance it to leisure within the fridge for no less than 1 hour.
Within the interim, puree 400 grams of peeled tomatoes with their juices the usage of a blender or meals processor, and pour into a large pan. Season with salt and freshly floor black pepper, ring to a boil, then simmer, stirring ceaselessly…
…till the sauce is not ‘bleeding’ transparent liquid as on this picture…
…however is sweet and thick. Flip off the warmth.
Wash 675 grams of spinach if wanted and position it in a pot whilst it’s nonetheless rainy. If the spinach is already washed, upload some water to the pot. Quilt the pot and produce to a boil.
Boil the spinach till it has wilted, stirring one or two times. This will likely handiest take a couple of mins.
Drain the spinach the usage of a colander, and make allowance it to chill off.
Position the spinach within the middle of an previous however blank tea towel…
…and wrap the tea towel round it like a work of sweet, twisting in opposite instructions on each ends. Stay twisting to squeeze out as a lot liquid as conceivable.
The spinach must finally end up fairly dry and about part the unique weight.
Mix the spinach within the bowl of a meals processor along with 250 grams ricotta, 75 grams of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, 1 egg yolk, salt, freshly floor black pepper, and a few freshly grated nutmeg.
Procedure till easy, scraping down the edges of the bowl as wanted.
Make a white sauce from 250 ml milk, 25 grams butter, and 25 grams flour, the usage of my directions.
Upload the white sauce to the tomato sauce.
Stir till homogeneous. Season the purple sauce to style with salt and freshly floor black pepper.
Grease an oblong 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) or sq. 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) oven evidence dish with 12.5 grams of butter.
Roll out the pasta dough into skinny sheets, and position them on a floured paintings floor in order that they don’t get caught.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (now not fan pressured).
If the usage of a 20 x 30 oblong dish, use 4 layers of pasta, 3 layers of spinach, and 1 layer of purple sauce: from under this implies pasta, 1/3 of the spinach, pasta, 1/3 of the spinach, pasta, 1/3 of the spinach, pasta, the entire purple sauce.
If the usage of a 20 x 20 sq. dish, use 6 layers of pasta, 4 layers of spinach, and a couple of layers of purple sauce: from under this implies pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/2 of the purple sauce, pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/2 of the purple sauce.
Lower the sheets with a knife or scissors and line the ground of the buttered dish with pasta sheets.
Position one portion of spinach at the pasta sheets.
Unfold it out into a good layer with a silicone spatula, ensuring to unfold it the entire strategy to the brink of the pasta sheets.
Quilt with some other layer of pasta sheets, chopping them to measurement to refill the distance in one layer.
End with a layer of purple sauce…
…which additionally must be unfold out the entire strategy to the brink of the pasta.
Sprinkle the highest calmly with 25 grams (1/3 cup) of freshly grated parmigiano, and dot with the rest 12.5 grams of butter.
Bake the lasagna for approximately half-hour at 200C/400F, or till it’s effervescent and the highest is rather charred.
Permit the lasagna to chill off for a few mins sooner than serving. This serves two functions: (1) it’s more straightforward to serve the lasagna because it has cooled off a little bit, and (2) there’s much less chance of burning your tongue.
Wine pairing
That is great with a dry and full-bodied rosé.
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