Ricotta and spinach are a basic mixture in Italian cooking, particularly as a stuffing for ravioli. It additionally works nice with a ‘pink’ tomato sauce, which implies a tomato sauce that’s combined with both cream or white sauce (besciamella). You could possibly make ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach and serve them with such a pink sauce. Right here I’ve turned it into lasagna as an alternative. It is a very elegant dish (in the event you serve a modest portion) with a wondeful velvety taste and texture.
I used to precook recent pasta sheets for making lasagna, however have tried it with out precooking, and so long as all of the pasta is roofed with sauce, it should prepare dinner within the sauce. It’s much less work and I choose the the feel that’s barely extra al dente.
Substances
Serves 4 to six as primo piatto
- 675 grams (1.5 lbs) recent 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 oz) 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 recent pasta dough utilizing 2 eggs, 1 egg white, and about 225 grams of Italian 00 flour, in line with my directions. Wrap the dough in cling movie and permit it to relaxation within the fridge for at the least 1 hour.
Within the meantime, puree 400 grams of peeled tomatoes with their juices utilizing 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 commonly…
…till the sauce is now not ‘bleeding’ clear liquid as on this photograph…
…however is good and thick. Flip off the warmth.
Wash 675 grams of spinach if wanted and place it in a pot whereas it’s nonetheless moist. If the spinach is already washed, add some water to the pot. Cowl the pot and produce to a boil.
Boil the spinach till it has wilted, stirring one or twice. This can solely take a couple of minutes.
Drain the spinach utilizing a colander, and permit it to chill off.
Place the spinach within the heart of an outdated however clear tea towel…
…and wrap the tea towel round it like a chunk of sweet, twisting in reverse instructions on each ends. Maintain twisting to squeeze out as a lot liquid as attainable.
The spinach ought to find yourself fairly dry and about half 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.
Course of till clean, scraping down the perimeters of the bowl as wanted.
Make a white sauce from 250 ml milk, 25 grams butter, and 25 grams flour, utilizing my directions.
Add the white sauce to the tomato sauce.
Stir till homogeneous. Season the pink 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 proof dish with 12.5 grams of butter.
Roll out the pasta dough into skinny sheets, and place them on a floured work floor in order that they don’t get caught.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (not fan compelled).
If utilizing a 20 x 30 rectangular dish, use 4 layers of pasta, 3 layers of spinach, and 1 layer of pink sauce: from beneath this implies pasta, 1/3 of the spinach, pasta, 1/3 of the spinach, pasta, 1/3 of the spinach, pasta, all the pink sauce.
If utilizing a 20 x 20 sq. dish, use 6 layers of pasta, 4 layers of spinach, and a couple of layers of pink sauce: from beneath this implies pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/2 of the pink sauce, pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/4 of the spinach, pasta, 1/2 of the pink sauce.
Lower the sheets with a knife or scissors and line the underside of the buttered dish with pasta sheets.
Place one portion of spinach on the pasta sheets.
Unfold it out into a good layer with a silicone spatula, ensuring to unfold all of it the way in which to the sting of the pasta sheets.
Cowl with one other layer of pasta sheets, chopping them to measurement to refill the house in a single layer.
End with a layer of pink sauce…
…which additionally ought to be unfold out all the way in which to the sting of the pasta.
Sprinkle the highest evenly with 25 grams (1/3 cup) of freshly grated parmigiano, and dot with the remaining 12.5 grams of butter.
Bake the lasagna for about half-hour at 200C/400F, or till it’s effervescent and the highest is barely charred.
Enable the lasagna to chill off for a few minutes earlier than serving. This serves two functions: (1) it’s simpler to serve the lasagna because it has cooled off a bit, and (2) there may be much less danger of burning your tongue.
Wine pairing
That is good with a dry and full-bodied rosé.
