BAKED RIGATONI WITH SPINACH, RICOTTA, AND FONTINA

BAKED RIGATONI WITH SPINACH, RICOTTA, AND FONTINA image

Categories Bake

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 9

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1 pound rigatoni
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
2 cups (about 1 pound) ricotta cheese
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
6 ounces fontina cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Steps:

Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until almost done, about 12 minutes. Drain. Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the water as possible from the spinach. Put the spinach in a food processor and puree with the ricotta, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in half the fontina. Stir the spinach mixture into the pasta. Top with the remaining fontina and Parmesan. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the top. Bake the pasta until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Variation You can substitute another chunky pasta, such as penne rigate, penne, ziti, or fusilli. Boil all of these one or two minutes less.