I'd heard of Baked Ziti but wasn't really sure what it was so when I saw someone mentioning making Baked Ziti with Spinach on twitter, I decided to try it using up the last bag of kale in my freezer. I was amazed to see that even the Madhouse kids wolfed it down and asked for seconds ! It's a bit like a healthier version of lasagne really.
Cheesy Baked Ziti with Kale
ingredients :
800g minced beef
a medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
a few mushrooms, sliced
2 tins chopped tomatoes
onion salt, garlic pepper, oregano, smoked paprika, basil, coriander
500g kale
400g pasta
Mozzarella and Parmesan
Ricotta or crème fraîche
3tbsp green pesto
Basically, just knock up a bolognese sauce. Brown the mince and add the onions, mushrooms and garlic, then the tomatoes and herbs. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes for the flavours to develop.
Meanwhile cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Any small pasta would do - I used the orzo pasta from my Greek Kitchen Nomad box.
Blanch the kale in boiling water for literally a couple of minutes.
Mix the ricotta (or cream cheese, sour cream, crème fraîche - whatever you have really!) with the pesto in a separate bowl.
Start to layer the ingredients in an ovenproof dish. Start with a layer of meat sauce, then alternate pasta, kale and ricotta with pesto.
End with a layer of meat sauce.
Sprinkle the final layer with Parmesan and Mozzarella, cover and bake at 180° for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and bubby.
This actually made enough for two dishes - a small dish with enough for me and Madhouse Daddy last night and another big dish with enough for the whole family. This is a lovely twist on the classic lasagne we usually eat and is a lot simpler (no worrying about the lasagne sheets cooking through properly or having to make cheese sauce). Definitely one that we'll be having again !
Disclosure : This is my entry into the Tots100 Co-operative Electrical competition - see here for more details or to enter yourself.
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
never heard of ziti before, it looks really nice though.
ReplyDeleteA Greek recipe-yay! Love orzo pasta and this looks delicious! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
ReplyDelete