Baked Spinach Ricotta Tart Food

SPINACH RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Wrap ricotta tightly in fine cheesecloth; place in a colander over a bowl. Place a heavy bowl or cans on top; let drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 1/2-inch springform pan with olive-oil cooking spray. Place drained ricotta, spinach, basil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth; scrape sides as needed, about 1 minute. Add eggs and egg white; blend about 5 seconds. Pour into prepared pan; bake until set and just brown around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes. Let rest on a cooling rack 5 minutes; run a paring knife around edges before unmolding. Cut into wedges; serve.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick pie shell (9" pie pan) and prebake in hot oven for 5-8 minutes until lightly browned. Turn oven down to 350 degrees when pie crust is done.
• Cook spinach until thawed and warm. Drain very well, squeezing excess moisture out with hands. (Do not precook spinach if using fresh).
• Saute onion in butter and stir in spinach, salt, nutmeg and black pepper.
• In separate bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, cream Parmesan cheese and eggs and blend well.
• Add spinach mixture and stir well.
• Pour into prebaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until custard is set.
• Garnish with finely chopped parsley and sliced cherry tomatoes if desired.
• May be served hot or room temperature.

TORTA RUSTICA WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Alternatively, mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add butter, working the pieces into the flour with your hands, squeezing and pinching them until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Add egg, egg white and lemon zest, and pulse after each addition. If working by hand, whisk together egg, egg white and lemon zest in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture. Slowly add iced wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse or mix by hand until the dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather and press it into a ball. Divide into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other, and shape into disks. Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: If your ricotta seems watery, put it in a sieve and let it drain while you cook the spinach.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and a large pinch of salt, and continue to cook until spinach is very dry, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. If any liquid accumulates as the spinach sits, pour it out of the bowl (you don't want it to water down the ricotta).
• In a food processor, purée drained ricotta and eggs until just combined and smooth. Add to the bowl with the spinach and fold in mozzarella, pecorino, ham (if using), parsley, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red-pepper flakes and nutmeg. Set aside when rolling out dough (or chill for up to 4 hours).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pastry dough disk to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan. Scrape filling into crust and spread evenly. Roll out second pastry disk to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice on top of the filling. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top of the torta with the egg wash.
• Place torta on sheet pan and bake until crust is crisp and brown, and filling is firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before serving.

SPINACH & RICOTTA PENNE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions until al dente, about 12 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat and cook the garlic and leeks for 5 mins, stirring until soft. Add the spinach, cover and cook for 3 mins more until wilted. Stir well.
• Mix the ricotta with the milk, cheese and a grating of nutmeg. Drain the pasta (reserving a mugful of the water), and add it to the veg. Pour over the ricotta mixture and toss well to combine. Add 3-4 tbsp of the reserved pasta water to loosen a little, then serve.

SPINACH & RICOTTA SLICE

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.

MUSHROOM, RICOTTA & ROCKET TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and place a baking sheet inside. Unroll the pastry onto a piece of baking parchment and score a border around the pastry about 1.5cm in from the edge. Place the pastry (still on the parchment) on the baking sheet and cook for 10-15 mins.
• While the pastry bakes, heat the oil in a large lidded pan and cook the mushrooms for 2-3 mins, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and add the sliced garlic, then cook for 1 min more to get rid of excess liquid.
• Mix the crushed garlic with the ricotta and nutmeg, then season well. Remove the pastry from the oven and carefully push down the risen centre. Spread over the ricotta mixture, then spoon on the mushrooms and garlic. Bake for 5 mins, then scatter over the parsley and rocket.