ricotta recipes

This classic lasagna recipe is a total crowd pleaser! The easy spinach and ricotta cheese filling is classic and creamy.

Lasagna with Ricotta (&amp; More Recipes!)

garlic cloves

unsalted butter

tomato sauce, fire roasted if possible

basil

tarragon (or oregano)

teaspoon kosher salt

cornstarch (or arrowroot starch)

lasagna noodles (8 ounces, gluten-free as necessary)*

baby spinach** (or 8 cups chopped spinach)

thyme

lemon

nutmeg

(2 cups) ricotta cheese

Parmesan cheese, divided

(12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

black pepper

Preheat: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Boil the noodles*: Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Boil the noodles until just before al dente, according to the package instructions, stirring often. Drain the noodles, then drizzle a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil. Lay the noodles flat onto the sheet, then turn them over so they become coated with olive oil to prevent sticking.

Prepare the tomato sauce (or skip with purchased marinara): Mince the garlic. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring frequently. Once the garlic is fragrant after about 1 or 2 minutes, turn down the heat and carefully add the tomatoes (avoid any momentary spitting), tomato sauce, basil, tarragon or oregano, kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Remove 1/4 cup of the sauce and stir it with the cornstarch, then add it back to the pan (this helps to thicken the sauce). Simmer on low heat while making the remainder of the recipe, at least 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove the pan from the heat.

Wilt the spinach: In a large skillet, mound the greens and 1/4 cup water in the skillet and cook, stirring often, until completely wilted and reduced, about 3 minutes (the greens significantly reduce when cooking; if necessary, sauté in batches.) Sprinkle with 2 pinches of kosher salt and stir, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Once cooled, use your hands to squeeze out all excess liquid and discard. Roughly chop the spinach.

Prepare the cheese filling: Destem the thyme, then roughly chop the leaves. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons thyme to a medium bowl and reserve about 1/2 tablespoon for topping the lasagna. To the bowl, add the lemon zest, nutmeg, ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Stir to combine.

Layer the lasagna: In a 9” x 13” baking dish, spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then top with 1 layer of noodles, half of the cheese mixture (in dollops then spread it out), half of the greens, and about 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat again: 1 layer of noodles (you may need to cut a noodle in half for the side, depending on your pan), the remaining cheese mixture, the remaining greens, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Finally, top with noodles (again, you may need to cut a noodle in half for the top layer), then the remaining 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the entire top with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 tablespoon thyme.

Bake the lasagna: Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, until bubbly and browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving (this allows the lasagna to set). Leftovers can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days and reheated in a 375°F oven.

Debbie Major&#8217;s lemony torte, studded with plump, juicy sultanas, is best served warm or at room temperature rather than chilled from the fridge.

Italian sultana and ricotta torte

For the base

plain flour, plus extra to dust

semolina

chilled unsalted butter,

caster sugar

For the ricotta topping

sultanas

caster sugar (reserve 3 tbsp)

unsalted butter,

free-range eggs,

4½ tbsp cornflour

tsp baking powder

salt

fresh ricotta

flaked almonds

Icing sugar

You’ll also need…

23cm springform cake tin, lightly greased with butter

For the ricotta topping, put the sultanas in a small, heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, then set aside to soak.

Meanwhile make the base. Heat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3. Put the flour and semolina in a food processor, add the butter and process briefly until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the 75g sugar and blend using the pulse button until the mixture starts to stick together in small clumps.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until smooth. Shape into a ball, then roll out into a 23cm disc. Put the disc in the greased tin and prick here and there with a fork. Bake for about 35 minutes until a pale biscuit-brown. Remove and set aside to cool slightly. Turn the oven up to 180°C/ 160°C fan/gas 4.

For the topping, drain the sultanas and spread out to dry on kitchen paper. Reserve 3 tbsp of the caster sugar. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and remaining caster sugar with an electric mixer until combined. It won’t go pale and fluffy because of the high proportion of sugar. Crack in one of the eggs and beat once more until the mixture is light, pale and creamy. Beat in 2 more of the eggs. Separate the last egg and beat in the egg yolk. Reserve the egg white.

Sift over the cornflour, baking powder and salt, then fold in using a large metal spoon along with the ricotta, lemon zest and sultanas. Finally, whisk the egg white to soft peaks in a mixing bowl, then gently fold in using a large metal spoon.

Grease the sides of the tin with a little more butter and coat them with the reserved 3 tbsp caster sugar. Pour the ricotta topping mixture on top of the base in the tin, then scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 1 hour until the torte has puffed up, is firm to the touch and has started to shrink away from the sides of the tin. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

Carefully remove the torte from the tin. To serve, lightly dust the top with icing sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into slices.

What to do with ricotta cheese? I&#039;ve got you covered with these 15 yummy ricotta recipes that you&#039;ll love. This scrumptious ricotta pasta is one of my readers&#039; favorites, easy to whip up and totally delicious!

Ricotta Recipes: 17 Yummy Ideas

(220 grams) pasta

(220-230 grams) baby spinach, washed

(250 grams) whole-milk ricotta

Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

garlic clove, grated

(35 grams) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve

unwaxed lemon, zest and juice

salt & pepper,

3 lemon wedges, to serve (optional)

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until al dente following the package directions.

In the last minute of the pasta&#039;s cooking time, reserve some cooking water (about ½ cup) and add spinach to the pot. Stir 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 some reserved pasta cooking water. Stir well to evenly coat the pasta in the sauce, add more cooking water if needed, you want everything nice and creamy.

Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese if you wish, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges if desired (for extra freshly squeezed juice, but I leave it optional)

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Top 3 ricotta recipes recipes from across the web

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The most viewed ricotta recipes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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