Baked Rigatoni with Spinach, Ricotta, and Fontina
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INGREDIENTS 1 pound rigatoni 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed 2 cups (about 1 pound) Ricotta cheese 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper 6 ounces Fontina cheese, grated (about 1-1/2 cups) Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until almost done, about 12 minutes. Drain. Put the pasta in the prepared baking dish and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Meanwhile, squeeze as much of the water as possible from the spinach. Put the spinach in a food processor and pureé with the ricotta, 3 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir in half of the Fontina. Stir the spinach mixture into the pasta. Top with the remaining Fontina and Parmesan. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the top. Bake the pasta until the top is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serves 4 NOTES - You can substitute another chunky pasta, such as penne rigate, penne, ziti, or fusilli. Boil all of these 1 or 2 minutes less. If you would like to add meat to this menu, grill some Italian sausages on the side.