Pasta Rounds With Spinach Ricotta Mousse Recipes

ROUND AND ROUND PASTA

Steps:

• For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Place the pasta in a large bowl.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, carrots and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until the carrots begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the orange juice, zucchini and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Cook until the juice thickens and the zucchini is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini mixture to the pasta.
• For the dressing: Whisk together the mascarpone cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt in a small bowl until smooth.
• Pour the dressing over the pasta. Add the tomatoes and sausage slices and toss until coated. Season with salt.

SPINACH, MUSHROOM, AND RICOTTA FETTUCCINE

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the fettuccine, bring back to a boil, and cook pasta over medium heat until cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms and sausage in butter until mushrooms are tender and sausage is browned and crumbly, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir spinach into mushroom mixture and cook until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir ricotta cheese into mushroom mixture until well-mixed; add lemon juice. Pour mushroom mixture over fettuccine and toss to coat.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA PASTA BAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C.
• Cook the pasta and spinach in boiling, salted for 10 minutes, until JUST cooked.
• Meanwhile, open the tinned tomatoes and drain the liquid from them using a sieve.
• Add all of the other tomato sauce ingredients to the drained tomatoes and stir well.
• When the pasta and spinach are cooked, drain the majority of the water (see recipe notes).
• Add the ricotta sauce ingredients and stir thoroughly, but gently. Pour into a casserole dish.
• Top with the tomato mixture and the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Pop into the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.
• Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve.

SPINACH & RICOTTA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• Pasta Sauce: Pour out about 1/4 cup of the passata (to make room to add flavourings). Add the remaining Pasta Sauce ingredients into the bottle, screw the lid on and give it a shake.
• Cook pasta for time per packet MINUS 1 minute.
• SCOOP OUT 1 mugful pasta cooking water, drain and set aside.
• Ricotta Mixture - Mix Ricotta Mixture ingredients in a very large bowl. Use a splash of pasta cooking water if needed to make it creamy.
• Add pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof baking dish.
• Top with Pasta Sauce, top with cheese. Loosely cover with foil.
• Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Serve while hot and fresh!

SPINACH AND RICOTTA PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, or until al dente. Drain and reserve a cupful of the cooking water.
• If using fresh spinach, cook it with a splash of water in a saucepan for 1-2 minutes, or until wilted, then leave to cool. Squeeze all the liquid out of the spinach using your hands and roughly chop.
• Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Once foaming, add the spinach, garlic, cooked pasta and a splash of the pasta cooking water and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more of the cooking water if needed. Add the ricotta and cook gently while mixing with two forks to break it up.
• Season with the nutmeg, percorino, salt and pepper and serve.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Tomato sauce - Combine the tomatoes, garlic salt, chili flakes, basil, oregano and rosemary.
• Combine the cooked pasta with spinach, ricotta and nutmeg.
• Place the pasta in a dish and top with tomato sauce. Bake in oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Serve with fresh ground black pepper and parmasan.

SPINACH MUSHROOM AND RICOTTA FETTUCCINE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in mushrooms and cook until tender. Stir in spinach and cook until thawed and tender. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta cheese; mix well.
• To the spinach mixture add the lemon juice; pour over cooked pasta. Mix well and serve.

LEMON RICOTTA PASTA & SPINACH

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Meanwhile, make the ricotta sauce.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Season with 1/4 tsp of salt and a good pinch of pepper.
• Stir until well combined, taste and make sure you're happy with the seasoning.
• In the last minute of the pasta's cooking time, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then and add spinach to the pot. Stir well and push the leaves down to submerge them in water.
• After 1 minute, drain and return pasta and spinach to the same pot.
• Add the ricotta sauce and part of the reserved cooking water. Stir well to evenly coat the pasta in the sauce, add more cooking water as needed, you want a smooth and creamy texture.
• Serve immediately and garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges if desired (for extra freshly squeezed juice, but I leave it optional). Plus, I love adding a good pinch of red pepper flakes, you might give it a go. Enjoy!

LOW-FAT SPINACH AND RICOTTA PASTA

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't brown.
• Add spinach and basil to the skillet and stir until wilted.
• Then add ricotta cheese and milk (and optional lemon juice and zest) to skillet and stir well.
• Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup or so of the cooking water.
• Combine cooked pasta and ricotta mixture in a large bowl. If it is too thick, add a bit of the cooking water to the mixture.
• Serve immediately with some freshly ground black pepper and an optional 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese per serving.

PASTA ROUNDS WITH SPINACH-RICOTTA MOUSSE

Steps:

• In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, puree the ricotta, mascarpone, and half the spinach. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and reserve.
• In a small skillet or saucepan, melt the butter. Saute the remaining spinach just until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Coarsely chop and let cool.
• In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Cool and fold into the cheese mixture with the cooled spinach, mozzarella, goat cheese, egg, salt, and pepper. Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and set the mousse aside.
• Cut the pasta dough into 4 pieces. On a surface dusted lightly with flour, with a pasta machine or by hand, roll out the first piece to a rectangle 20 inches long and 4 inches wide, keeping the remaining dough covered until needed. Trim the rectangle as needed to even the sides. Spread 1/4 of the mousse over the lower part of the length of the dough. Roll the dough over the filling, enclosing it completely, forming a 20-inch by 1-inch pasta roll. Cut the roll into approximately 1-inch pieces, yielding 20 slices. Repeat with the remaining dough and mousse.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and brush 8 (4-inch) tart pans with the butter. Arrange 10 of the pasta slices in a circle, cut-side up, in each pan (it will be a tight squeeze, but it can be done) and sprinkle each circle with grated Parmesan. Set the pans on a baking tray for easier handling and bake for 15 minutes. Invert each of the pasta rounds out of the tart pans onto the tray and continue to bake until both sides are golden brown. This should take another 15 to 20 minutes. The pasta will be crisp.
• To serve, heat the Tomato Garlic Basil Sauce, and spoon a little in the center of each of 10 warmed plates. Set 1 of the rounds on the sauce and serve immediately. Pass the remaining sauce in a small bowl.
• In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, egg yolks, salt, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of water. Process until the dough begins to hold together, then stop the machine, and pinch the dough to test it. If it's too dry, add up to 1 more tablespoon of water and process until it forms a moist ball. Turn out on a lightly floured smooth work surface and knead by hand, until a smooth ball is formed. Loosely wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Keep the other pieces covered in plastic while you roll out 1 piece at a time, by hand with a rolling pin or through the rollers of a pasta machine, stretching the dough to the desired thickness.
• If using a pasta machine, set the rollers at the widest opening. Flatten the first piece of dough into a thick strip no wider than the machine, to enable it to pass through the rollers. If necessary, dust the pasta very lightly with flour. Run the pasta through the machine. Fold in thirds, crosswise, and run through the machine again. Repeat this procedure at least twice more, or until the dough is smooth and somewhat elastic. Set the machine to the next smaller opening and run the dough through the rollers.
• Continue rolling and stretching the dough, using the smaller opening each time, until the next to the last or the last opening is reached, dusting lightly with flour only as necessary. (The strip of dough will be long. If you don't have enough space on your worktable, halfway through the rolling process cut the strip of dough in half and continue to work with each piece separately, keeping the unused dough covered).
• Adjust the cutting mechanism to the desired width, cut the noodles, and allow them to dry before cooking. A convenient way to dry pasta is to arrange the cut pasta on a pastry tray sprinkled with flour, preferably semolina flour. As 1 layer is completed, sprinkle flour over the noodles, place a piece of parchment paper over them, and continue layering with noodles and flour. Dry for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
• Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• Prepare the herb tea: In a very small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the herbs and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat and reduce to 1/4 cup. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Cool.
• In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, egg yolks, salt, olive oil, and herb tea. Process until the dough begins to hold together, then stop the machine, and pinch the dough to test it. If it's too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water and process until it forms a moist ball. Turn out on a lightly floured smooth work surface and knead by hand, forming a smooth ball. Loosely wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Keep the other pieces covered in plastic while you roll out 1 piece at a time, by hand with a rolling pin or through the rollers of a pasta machine, stretching the dough to the desired thickness.
• If using a pasta machine, set the rollers at the widest opening. Flatten the first piece of dough into a thick strip no wider than the machine, to enable it to pass through the rollers. If necessary, dust the pasta very lightly with flour. Run the pasta through the machine. Fold in thirds, crosswise, and run through the machine again. Repeat this procedure at least twice, or until the dough is smooth and somewhat elastic. Set the machine to the next smaller opening and run the dough through the rollers.
• Continue rolling and stretching the dough, using the smaller opening each time, until the next to the last or the last opening is reached, dusting lightly with flour only as necessary. (The strip of dough will be long. If you don't have enough space on your worktable, halfway through the rolling process cut the strip of dough in half and continue to work with each piece separately, keeping the unused dough covered).
• Adjust the cutting mechanism to the desired width, cut the noodles, and allow them to dry before cooking. A convenient way to dry pasta is to arrange the cut pasta on a pastry tray sprinkled with flour, preferably semolina flour. As 1 layer is completed, sprinkle flour over the noodles, place a piece of parchment paper over them, and continue layering with noodles and flour. Dry for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
• Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
• In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Over medium-high heat, saute the onion just until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomato paste, and then the tomatoes, cook 2 or 3 minutes, and pour in the chicken stock. Reduce until the sauce thickens, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain into a clean saucepan.
• Cut the basil leaves into a chiffonade* and stir into the sauce. Whisk in the butter, piece by piece, and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Keep warm.