Ricotta Spinach Manicotti

Tender Layers, Filled with Care

Manicotti is patient work — and that patience is precisely the point. There is something quietly meditative about laying out sheets of pasta, spreading a soft filling, and rolling each one into something whole. It's the kind of cooking that slows the afternoon down, that fills the kitchen with warmth before the dish ever reaches the table. Ricotta and spinach have long kept each other company in Italian kitchens, and together, tucked inside pasta and blanketed beneath sauce, they become something genuinely comforting — the sort of meal that lingers in memory long after the pan is clean.

Ingredients

• 1 8oz package Lasagne
• 1 tablespoon Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 6 ounces fresh spinach
• 15 ounces ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup grated mozzarella
• 1/2 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano (divided use)
• Alessi Sea Salt and Alessi Black Peppercorns
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 jar Alessi Pasta Sauce

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water with one tablespoon olive oil to a boil.
2. Drop sheets of lasagne in boiling water gently stirring occasionally for approximately 3 – 5 minutes.
3. Remove lasagne with tongs and transfer to a flat platter. Continue to boil water for spinach.
4. Blanch spinach by submerging for 2 to 3 minutes in boiling water, until soft and bright green in color.
5. Remove and quickly place in cold, ice water to stop the cooking process.
6. Once cooled, drain spinach well, squeezing with a paper towel to remove moisture. Coarsely chop spinach.
7. In a large bowl, combine spinach with ricotta, eggs, mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
8. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
9. Mix all ingredients well.
10. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
11. Create manicotti by placing two tablespoons of ricotta filling on one end.
12. Roll gently, without pressing too hard. Repeat for each manicotti.
13. Spread 1/3 of pasta sauce over the length of a large baking sheet.
14. Arrange manicotti on the sheet, then top with remaining sauce.
15. Sprinkle with remaining grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.