BAKED RICOTTA ORECCHIETTE

Baked Ricotta Orecchiette image

Baked ricotta honestly rivals the whole baked feta thing. It's such a simple, easy-to-make dish that's so delicious. Garnish with fresh herbs and/or some freshly grated Grana Padano cheese. Enjoy!

Provided by Jonathan Charbz

Time 1h5m

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

1 pound cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
½ medium red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, or as needed
1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1 (15 ounce) container whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 (16 ounce) package dried orecchiette
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ medium lemon, juiced

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine cherry tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, and garlic in a large, 3-quart baking dish. Drizzle generously with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper. Stir to coat everything. Make a well in the center of the dish and drop in the ricotta cheese. Drizzle the ricotta with remaining olive oil and give it a generous pinch more of pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Switch the oven to broil at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) and continue to cook until desired blistering and browning occurs, 2 to 4 minutes more.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orecchiette in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
Remove the baked ricotta dish from the oven and place onto a wire cooling rack.
Add thyme leaves, then stir the ricotta to break it up. Stir in fresh basil, parsley, and lemon juice. Add the reserved pasta water to loosen things up if needed. Taste and adjust salt if desired. Add the orecchiette and stir until everything is coated. Serve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 722.1 calories, Carbohydrate 100 g, Cholesterol 33 mg, Fat 24.6 g, Fiber 7.4 g, Protein 28.6 g, SaturatedFat 7.3 g, Sodium 185.5 mg, Sugar 4.9 g