Sunday, August 26, 2012

Baked Rigatoni with Spinach, Ricotta, and Fontina

So I was supposed to make this, but D did instead.  It was pretty good.  Large portions (we had 6 servings).  It would be better with Italian Sausage....will try it with that the next time.

Baked Rigatoni with Spinach, Ricotta, and Fontina 

A quick take on spinach and ricotta cannelloni, this baked pasta is fast because there's nothing to stuff. The filling is simply tossed with cooked rigatoni that's then topped with fontina and baked to a golden brown.
YIELD: 4 (we had 6)
COURSE: Main Dishes

Ingredients
1 pound rigatoni
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 10- ounces package frozen spinach, thawed
2 cups (about 1 pound) ricotta  (used 15 oz part skim)
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan (used shredded)
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
6 ounces fontina, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)  (used Italian Blend)

Preparation 
1. Heat the oven to 450°. Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until almost done, about 12 minutes. Drain. Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
3. Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the water as possible from the spinach. Put the spinach in a food processor and puree with the ricotta, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in half the fontina.
4. Stir the spinach mixture into the pasta. Top with the remaining fontina and Parmesan. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the top. Bake the pasta until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Variation: You can substitute another chunky pasta, such as penne rigate, penne, ziti, or fusilli. Boil all of these one or two minutes less.

Food & Wine JANUARY 1998

Nutritional Information 
from My Fitness Pal for 6 servings (using below ingredients)
Calories: 567; Carbs: 61; Fat: Carbs: 23; Protein: 28; Sodium: 651; Fiber: 3

Ronzoni - Rigatoni, Edited, 16 oz dry
Oil - Olive, 3 tablespoon
Kroger - Frozen Chopped Spinach (12 oz Package)
Aldi Priano - Parmesan Cheese - Freshly Shredded, 0.31 cup
Spices - Nutmeg, ground, 0.5 tsp
Morton - Iodized Table Salt, 3/4 tsp
Spices - Pepper, black, 0.25 tsp
Kroger - Italian Blend Shredded Cheese, 1.5 cup
Kroger - Ricotta Cheese Part Skim, 1 container (1 4/5 cup (62g) ea.)

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