Three Cheese Ziti With Ricotta Asparagus And Cherry Tomatoes Food

THREE-CHEESE ZITI WITH RICOTTA, ASPARAGUS AND CHERRY TOMATOES RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and asparagus are tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ricotta and the reserved cooking liquid until creamy. Add the pasta mixture, mozzarella, Parmesan and basil and toss until well mixed. Serve at once

BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Make the tomato sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until it has turned a deeper brick-red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes. Crush the whole tomatoes by hand and add them (including the juice) and the tomato purée to the pot, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper and add red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, heavy cream and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Prepare the pasta: As the sauce cooks, heat oven to 425 degrees, and place a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove.
• Cook pasta until it's nearly al dente. (You want to undercook the pasta slightly, as it will continue to cook in the oven. A good way to do this is cook it 2 minutes less than you normally would if preparing it al dente.) Reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta and rinse with cool water; set aside while the tomato sauce finishes cooking.
• Once tomato sauce is done, stir in reserved pasta water.
• Place pasta in a large bowl and add 2 cups sauce. Stir to coat pasta evenly encouraging the sauce to go inside each tube.
• Spoon a bit of remaining sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with 1/3 of the pasta. Spoon 1/3 of the remaining sauce on top, dollop with half the ricotta mixture and scatter 1/3 of the mozzarella on top of that. Repeat, beginning with the pasta, one more time. For the final layer, add the last 1/3 of pasta and the last of the sauce. Dot remaining mozzarella on top and shave a bit more Parmesan on top of that. Place baking dish on top of a sheet pan lined with parchment paper to catch any drips. Place in the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown and bubbling and the top has browned nicely, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Let cool slightly before eating with a big green leafy salad.

3 CHEESE BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs and parmesan cheese; set aside.
• In another bowl, throughly combine hot pasta and pasta sauce.
• In a 13x9 inch baking dish, spoon in 1/2 of the pasta mixture; evenly top with cheese mixture then remaining pasta. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve, if desired with additional heated pasta sauce.

ORECCHIETTE CON RICOTTA E POMODORINI: ORECCHIETTE PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a pot of boiling water, cook the pasta for about 8 minutes (remove before the 'al dente' stage). While pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the cherry tomatoes for about a minute. Add salt to taste.
• Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.
• Add the cooked pasta and ricotta cheese to the pan. Ladle in some pasta water - the excess pasta water will break down the ricotta cheese, creating a creamy sauce.
• Cook pasta in the pan with all the other ingredients for another minute. Top with cilantro, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

BAKED ZITI II

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
• In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

ZITI WITH FRESH ASPARAGUS AND TOASTED PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Cut peppers in half, and remove the seeds and membrane.
• Place prepared peppers, skin-side up, on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil 5 inches from the heating element for 15 to 20 minutes (until peppers blister and turn dark).
• Transfer roasted peppers to a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes.
• Peel off the skins from the peppers; cut into julienne strips, lightly salt and set aside.
• Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus; cut into 1-inch pieces.
• Steam the asparagus for 2 to 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Lightly salt and set aside.
• Coat a large heavy-bottomed skillet with olive oil; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add the peppers, garlic, onion powder and basil; saute for 2 minutes. Add the asparagus and saute for 1 minute; stir in the lemon juice.
• Remove vegetables from heat, and set aside.
• Cook the ziti according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in an electric blender or food processor, add the ricotta cheese, yogurt and sour cream; blend until smooth. Stir in the parsley.
• Add the ricotta mixture to the peppers and asparagus. Gently toss to combine.
• Transfer the cooked pasta to a large serving bowl; add the ricotta/peppers. Toss well to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and black pepper.

ROASTED BALSAMIC ASPARAGUS & CHERRY TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the asparagus and cherry tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season, then toss everything together. Bake for 15 mins until the asparagus is cooked through. Serve topped with the feta.

PASTA WITH FRESH TOMATO SAUCE AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted water, making sure to keep it quite al dente.
• Put butter in a wide deep skillet over medium heat. Add drained pasta to the pan and season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper, if using.
• Add tomato sauce gradually and stir to coat pasta, using only enough sauce for a light coating (you may not need the entire 2 1/2 cups).
• Transfer pasta to a warm serving bowl and dot top with spoonfuls of ricotta. Sprinkle lightly with pecorino and garnish with a few torn basil leaves.

ZITI WITH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and pour in the pasta. Stir. Set your serving bowl on top of the pot to warm it.
• While the pasta cooks, whip the ricotta and goat cheese together with a fork.
• Once the pasta is cooked al dente, ladle out about a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in the butter and the cheeses and season with pepper. Stir in enough of the pasta water - a little at a time - to make a smooth sauce.
• Scrape the pasta into the serving bowl and serve immediately. Pass the grated cheese at the table.
• Variation
• Wash about 1/2 pound of greens, something like dandelion or curly endive or Swiss chard, and cut into ribbons. Sauté the greens in a combination of olive oil and butter, about 1 tablespoon of each, until tender. Season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper if you'd like, and add to the pasta when you add the cheeses.
• Easier still is to tear 1/2 pound of arugula or dandelion greens into small pieces and boil them along with the pasta.