Squash And Ricotta Pasta Bake Recipes

SQUASH AND RICOTTA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Place the squash on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and pop in the hot oven for around 15 minutes, or until tender.
• Pour a couple of lugs of olive oil into a large frying pan, add the garlic and basil stalks and fry for a couple of minutes. Add your tomatoes to the pan, breaking them up with a wooden spoon and bring to the boil. Drop in the roasted squash, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the penne and cook for a couple of minutes less than it says on the packet. Drain, then toss with the sauce.
• Tear up the basil leaves and sprinkle into the pan with some salt and pepper. Stir in the ricotta and the stock, then bring back to the boil.
• Rub a large baking tray, ovenproof pan or earthenware dish with olive oil and spoon in all the pasta and sauce. Tear over the ball of mozzarella and top with the Parmesan. Rub the sage leaves with a little olive oil and put on top.
• Pop it into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve with a crisp green salad.
• Tip: If you're a chilli freak like me, try adding a chopped fresh chilli to your tomato sauce.

BAKED PASTA WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Coat a 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place squash on prepared baking sheet; roast until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Place in a large bowl and mash.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. After squash has been roasting for about 10 minutes, cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot.
• In a medium saucepan, whisk together milk, flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in mashed squash and 2 1/2 teaspoons of thyme. Add sauce to pasta; toss to mix and coat.
• Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish; dot with spoonfuls of ricotta and then sprinkle with Parmesan and walnuts. Bake until top is lightly browned in a few spots, about 15 to 20 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of thyme.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND RICOTTA STUFFED PASTA

Steps:

• Both the Ricotta and Butternut filling can be made beforehand and frozen, cutting down on prep time.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminium foil and coat with cooking spray.
• With a strong knife remove the stem from the squash.
• Slice the squash in half end-to-end and remove and discard the pulp and seeds.
• Cut each portion in half creating four pieces which are about the same size.
• Place the squash wedges on the baking sheet with the cut side up.
• Coat each piece of squash with butter and salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover the wedges with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove the wedges from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Remove the flesh from the skin and mash in a medium bowl adding a pinch of nutmeg.
• In a large bowl combine the ricotta, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of your pesto,1/4 cup of your parmesan, salt and pepper to taste as well as a little bit of nutmeg.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta shells cooking for 8 minutes (until al-dente).
• Drain pasta and cool in cold water, drain again of all water.
• In a 9x13 inch casserole dish pour tomato sauce and water adding the 2 tablespoons of remaining pesto.
• Divide and stuff the mashed squash into the bottom part of the pasta shells.
• Top the squash with the ricotta mixture, stuffing the pasta shells as full as you can.
• Set the stuffed pasta shells stuffed side up on top of the tomato sauce.
• Sprinkle the shells with the remaining parmesan cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the pasta is golden on top.

SQUASH, RICOTTA & SAGE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Toss the squash together with the olive oil in a roasting tin. Roast the squash for 30 mins until soft and golden. While the squash is roasting, mix the crème fraîche with half the Parmesan, then set aside.
• When squash is ready, leave to cool slightly, then peel the skin away from the flesh. In a separate bowl, beat the ricotta with the chopped sage and remaining Parmesan and fold through the squash with some seasoning, trying not to break it up too much.
• Assemble the bake by spreading a little of the crème fraîche mix over a gratin dish. Then lay some of the lasagne sheets over and splodge some of the ricotta and squash mix over the pasta with more crème fraîche. Use all the ricotta mix to fill the bake, but make sure you keep some crème fraîche for the top. Finally, spread the crème fraîche over the top layer of lasagne, then scatter with the whole sage leaves. The bake can now be frozen; defrost thoroughly before cooking. Bake for 25 mins until bubbling and golden, then serve cut into squares.