Best Spinach Basil Ricotta Purée Recipes

BAKED PENNE WITH SPINACH, RICOTTA & FONTINA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch ceramic baking dish.
• Cook the penne in boiling salted water until al dente, about 9 minutes. (It will cook more in the oven so you don't want it completely cooked.) Drain, then place the cooked penne back in the pan and set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the spinach, basil, ricotta, cream cheese, half-and-half, 1 cup of the fontina, 3 tablespoons of the Parmigiano Reggiano, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Process until puréed.
• Add the spinach mixture to the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining fontina and Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the top is golden in spots, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

LUXURIOUS, BUTTERY CREAMED SPINACH RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot (such as an enameled Dutch oven ), heat the spinach leaves over medium-high heat. You can add a small amount of water to the pot before adding the spinach, but the leaves will steam in their own liquid as they cook. Stir with a wooden spoon to keep everything moving.
• As you cook it, the spinach will soften and turn a bright green color while reducing in volume quite dramatically. This might take 5 to 6 minutes or a bit longer.
• Plunge the cooked spinach leaves into a large bowl of ice water. This will stop the spinach from cooking and lock in that bright green color.
• Drain the ice water and squeeze the excess water from the spinach. Squeezing by hand, a handful at a time is the best way to do this. You can transfer each squeezed handful directly into the bowl of your food processor since the next step will be puréeing it.
• Meanwhile, heat the cream over medium heat. Let the cream reduce slightly while you're squeezing the spinach.
• Purée the spinach in a food processor until it's completely smooth.
• Return the puréed spinach to the pot and add the butter, cream, and cheese. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it's hot.
• Season to taste with Kosher salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Serve right away.

SPINACH-RICOTTA QUICHE

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.

SPINACH & RICOTTA PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• Pasta Sauce: Pour out about 1/4 cup of the passata (to make room to add flavourings). Add the remaining Pasta Sauce ingredients into the bottle, screw the lid on and give it a shake.
• Cook pasta for time per packet MINUS 1 minute.
• SCOOP OUT 1 mugful pasta cooking water, drain and set aside.
• Ricotta Mixture - Mix Ricotta Mixture ingredients in a very large bowl. Use a splash of pasta cooking water if needed to make it creamy.
• Add pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof baking dish.
• Top with Pasta Sauce, top with cheese. Loosely cover with foil.
• Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Serve while hot and fresh!

SPINACH, BASIL RICOTTA PURéE

Steps:

• Bring 2 cups water to boil in large pot. Add spinach leaves and stir until tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain. Squeeze out excess water. Transfer spinach to processor. Add basil and ricotta to spinach. Blend until smooth. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add spinach mixture and cream. Stir until mixture is just heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

SPINACH RICOTTA PIZZA WITH FRESH TOMATO PUREE

Steps:

• Divide dough into two and roll out into two thin crusts. Lightly brush olive oil to taste on top and bake the dough for 5 minutes in a 425 degree oven on a greased and floured pan.
• Meanwhile grate the four tomatoes into a medium bowl. If your tomatoes are really ripe, you can drain the excess liquid slighlty. Add the pressed garlic and olive oil.
• Add the spinach to a medium pan over medium heat and saute with salt and pepper to taste until half-wilted.
• Spread the tomato mixture on both crusts. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes. This should get rid of any excess liquid in the sauce.
• Top the pizzas with spinach, basil, and a light sprinkling of mozzarella. Finish by placing small dallops of ricotta around the pizza, using a small spoon.
• Bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese bubbles and begins to brown.

SPAGHETTI WITH SPINACH, PEAS, AND HERBED RICOTTA

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine ricotta, lemon zest and juice, and basil; season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add spinach; season generously and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 2 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of salted boiling water 2 minutes less than per package instructions. Add peas; cook 1 minute more. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain. Add pasta, peas, and 3/4 cup ricotta mixture to skillet.
• Reduce heat to low and stir, adding enough reserved pasta water to create a silky sauce; season to taste. To serve, dollop pasta with remaining ricotta mixture, drizzle with more oil, and sprinkle with basil leaves.