Ricotta Pasta Bake

Make this really shine by making your own ricotta. Whole milk, heavy cream and lemon juice or white vinegar. It's dirt simple and quick.

I found that the lemon curdled the whole milk ricotta and actually was not a particularly interesting flavor in this dish. In addition a whole pound of wagon wheel pasta was too much for a pound of ricotta. A superficially similar dish made for generations in my Sicilian family was ricotta with penne or rigatoni, spinach , garlic and lots of grated cheese. Broccoli rabe...precooked...could also be used instead of spinach. Pasta water was only a 1/2 cup to make the pasta clingier.

I made this tonight exactly as written (except) adding Italian sausage only because my family doesn't trust a meal with no meat. We really liked it!!

I made two modifications - I added some garlic to the oven roasting stage and threw in some additional spices before it went back in the over for the second bake. It turned out tasty, but was a touch dry even though I used two full cups of the pasta water. I suspect my tomatoes weren't super juicy.

The prep time is under-stated since you need to roast for 20- 25 mins.

I made this for the family and it was a hit with the kids. In future I’ll double the herbs and parmesan, add in more roasted tomatoes and probably add olives or capers for extra flavour. Crunchy topping was delicious!

Could you reheat this? Would like to make for dinner and then send in a thermos for school lunch the next day, but don't know if ricotta will get weird.

This recipe is a poor one! My advice is to not even attempt it. It is arduous to prepare and the results are disappointing. I saw the many comments that it was bland, so I took the time to add extras - olives, spinach, lots of garlic, quadrupled herbs, extra tomatoes, doubled the parmesan, cut back on the pasta, red pepper flakes, and still it was lacking and unsatisfying. If I were to make it again, which I won't, I would use a rich broth in place of the pasta water addition.

I made this tonight as written with the exception of tossing in a handful of Kalamata olives and additional dried herbs/spices. it was creamy and delicious. I only had to use about 1/2 cup of the pasta water, but my baking pan was smaller, but deep - that may have prevented it drying out. This has all kinds of possibilities for customization. I might add artichoke hearts next time.

I rarely cook a dish without a hit of garlic powder, so with the addition of that, red pepper flakes, and extra fresh herbs I had no issues with blandness (I often take measurements for spices in recipes as "suggestions" anyways - apologies to the purists). We also added grilled chicken for some protein and had an easy weeknight dinner that got rave reviews from guests, particularly re: lemon zest in the breadcrumbs!

This recipe makes a generous portion of pasta. Can feed 7-8 people. I added some tomato paste to the ricotta mixture to give it an extra flavor boost. Maybe next time I’d consider pancetta too. This is a simple pasta casserole that can be adapted with many diff flavor profiles.

Very good! I used shallots and also added some roasted garlic to the tomato/ricotta mixture. Used whole milk ricotta and had no issues with it curdling from the lemon. I also added red pepper flakes since so many comments said it was bland. Overall a very good dish and will plan on making it again!

Made this recipe. It is perfectly good as is, but next time I am going to *double* the Parmesan cheese, add some *cream* and substitute marinated artichoke hearts for the tomato.

Has anyone tried this with maybe some crumbled sweet sausage?

Agree with those who say "make your own ricotta with heavy cream, whole milk, lemon juice or white vinegar." Make it a day in advance and let sit with the zest of a whole, well-washed, lemon stirred in. Use that lemon, in thin slices, to roast, and use as a top garnish on the casserole.