Ricotta and spinach pasta bake

Who would say no to a tasty and easy-to-make pasta bake? This version, with the Italian influences of prosciutto, napolitana sauce and parmesan, is enough to serve two people at dinner time.

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g penne
• 250 g low-fat ricotta
• 250 g frozen spinach, thawed and excess liquid removed
• 6 slices prosciutto, chopped
• 60 g (¾ cup) grated parmesan
• 160 ml (⅔ cup) milk
• ¾ cup napolitana-style pasta sauce
• salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook penne until al dente. Drain.

Mix together the ricotta, spinach, prosciutto, ½ cup parmesan and milk. Stir through the pasta and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pasta sauce over the base of a baking dish (see note). Top with the ricotta and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Stand for five minutes before serving.

Note

• You can use one large, four-cup capacity baking dish or two, two-cup capacity dishes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.