(Serves 6-8)
Just like every mom out there, I am always looking for dinner recipes to keep things interesting. This is not a household that has the same dinners on repeat week after week. We also like to have a few vegetarian meals mixed in each week and this spaghetti pie doesn’t disappoint. The spinach, garlic and basil add wonderful flavor to simple pasta. If you want to save some time in the evening, you can make the sauce ahead of time. Dinner is served!
You Will Need:
- 1 pound angel hair pasta (or any spaghetti)
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided: plus more for topping/serving
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, plus more for serving
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Spray a large cast iron pan with olive oil spray and set aside.
- Remove large stems from the spinach, basil and parsley. Chop and set aside.
- Make the sauce – In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour. Continue whisking until the mixture is uniform, lightly golden and bubbling. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the cream and simmer about 5 minutes until thickened. While it simmers, grate in the garlic cloves with a handheld grater.
- Stir in a half cup of the parmesan cheese and stir.
- Add the spinach, parsley and basil and let wilt. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.
- Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Add a small amount of the sauce to the eggs and whisk. Add the egg mixture back into the rest of the sauce.
- Season the water and make the pasta, cooking a minute or two less than the package instructions.
- Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Pour the sauce over and stir to combine. Stir in the other half cup of parmesan.
- Place the pasta into the prepared pan. Making small dents into the pasta with the back of a spoon. Place a spoonful of ricotta into each hole. Top with more parmesan and the mozzarella.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Until set and the edges begin to slightly brown.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
- Serve alongside a salad, topped with more basil, parsley and/or parmesan.
Summary
Recipe Name
Author Name
Spinach and Herb Spaghetti Pie
Tricia Hewitt-Huckabee
