Thursday, July 9, 2009

Ravioli lasagna with homemade ricotta


So I decided I wanted to make an old recipe I've had for awhile last night for dinner. The recipe calls for ricotta cheese, which I never have on hand, but I had recently read in Good Housekeeping that fresh ricotta is easy to make.
So I gave it a go and it turned out to be pretty easy. You can find the recipe here The only changes I made were to use 2% milk instead of whole milk and to cook it just to a simmer, about 200 degrees instead of a full boil as some other recipes on the web suggested.
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Once I had the ricotta made, which this recipe yielded the exact amount I needed, 15 ounces, it was onto the Ravioli lasagna. I thought I would find the recipe I use on the web and link to it, but I couldn't find it. So here is my version:

Ravioli Lasagna

Serves 6 -8

1 jar 26 oz. spaghetti sauce (I usually use Prego with meat)

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

15 oz carton ricotta cheese (or make your own or use cottage cheese)

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 25 oz. pkg. frozen cheese or meat ravioli

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella, ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning, egg and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Spread 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9" or 10" baking pan. Arrange 1/2 of the frozen ravioli in a single layer on top. Top with cheese mixture, then the rest of the ravioli. Top with the additional spaghetti sauce. Finally sprinkle 1 cup of Mozzarella on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes to cool and set up. Sprinkle with more Parmesan before serving.


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