Lasagne tips... Spinach and Ricotta

frivolous_fay

I made this over Christmas... would have been great if I hadn't tried to use frozen spinach and failed to give it time to thaw... sigh

Home made lasagne made with 150g flour + 3 eggs (otherwise use packet, as I did!)

Filling:
650g spinach
2 small onions, chopped
50g butter
50g plain flour
3 egg yolks
165g grated parmesan
1 whole small nutmeg, grated (hallucinations, anyone?)
250g ricotta
seasoning
12 very ripe toms, roughly chopped
3 red peppers, chopped
2 chopped garlic cloves
6 tbsp olive oil
one more chopped onion
1 sprig thyme

Preheat oven to 175c / 350f / gas 4

Boil a pan of water, throw in spinach, return to boil, remove spinach, spread on tray to cool. Squeeze it dry then chop finely.

Cook onion gently in butter until soft and pale. Stir in flour, cook gently for 20 mins, stirring regularly. Add spinach and cook for 5 mins. Empty pan into a bowl and beat in the eggs, parmesan, nutmeg, ricotta and seasoning. Cover and leave aside.

Put tomato, red pepper, the other onion, garlic, oil, thyme and seasoning into a warmed pan and simmer for 35-40 mins until the tomatoes have collapsed and the peppers soft. Boil off any excess liquid. Fish out the thyme. (put this mixture through a mouli des legumes - if you know what that is and have one)

Boil a pan of water and cook the pasta sheets.

Butter a dish and fill with layers, finishing with tomato. Grate more parmesan on top and bake for 30 mins.