Spinach Ricotta Slice Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Melt half the butter with the oil in a sauté pan. Add the onion and cook for 10 mins until softened. Remove to a bowl.
• Add a few handfuls of spinach to the pan and cook for a few mins until it has wilted down. Remove from the heat and drain in a colander. Repeat until all the spinach is cooked. Press with the back of a spoon to remove any excess liquid. Now roughly chop and tip into the bowl with the onion. Stir in the nutmeg, ricotta, egg yolks, Parmesan and some seasoning and mix well.
• Roll out one pack of pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 25 x 30cm rectangle, then lay on a large baking sheet. With the longest side facing you, pack the spinach mixture down the middle of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border all the way around. Brush the pastry all the way round with some beaten egg.
• Roll out the second pack of pastry to a rectangle slightly larger than the first. Drape over the top and gently press down the edges to seal both pastry layers together. Trim the edges to neaten and crimp with your fingers, or seal down with a fork.
• Brush all over with beaten egg and, if you like, lightly score the pastry with the back of a knife in a criss-cross fashion, making sure you don't cut all the way through. Bake for 40 mins. Leave to rest for 10 mins before serving.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; add onion and cook for 1 minute. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to wilt, about 1 minute. Cover skillet and cook for 1 minute more, allowing condensation to build inside the skillet. Remove from heat, uncover, and stir.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Press pie pastry into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan. Prick bottom and sides with a fork.
• Bake crust in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Combine eggs, ricotta cheese, cream, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, basil, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
• Spread spinach and onion mixture evenly over the crust. Pour egg mixture on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven until center of quiche is set and the top is lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, spinach and scant 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute until the spinach has completely wilted. Transfer the spinach to a strainer set over a bowl. Cool to room temperature. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
• Roughly chop the spinach and add it to a medium bowl. Add the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
• Lay the sliced bread on a clean work surface. Coat the top of each slice with butter. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Lay 4 of the slices in the skillet, butter-side down. Scoop about 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture onto each slice. Spread the mixture evenly to cover the whole slice, then top with the other slices of bread, butter-side up. Cook until the first side is golden and toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the sandwiches and cook until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melty, an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer the sandwiches to a clean work surface and let them cool for 1 minute before slicing.