Recipe Research
Recipe link: Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna (Cucina by Elena)
Saucy sugo al pomodoro, creamy cheesy, earthy spinach, and tasty basil lasagna! A mouthful of savory and delicious goodness. This recipe highlights simple fresh ingredients as traditional Italian recipes commonly do.
Ingredients
- 12 to 16 dried lasagna pasta (also use no boil if desired)
- 3 to 4 cups sugo al pomodoro
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups (1 ½ pounds fresh) spinach, cooked (steamed or sautéed, liquid removed)
- 32 oz (2 LB) cups whole milk ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 ½ cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (extra for top)
- 2 cups grated Parmegiano (extra for top)
- 6 fresh basil leaves, torn with hands
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Make a batch of the Sugo al Pomodoro (tomato sauce). Set aside.
- Steam or saute spinach and remove liquid. Cool completely. Cut to create small pieces.
- Mix the ricotta, egg, parmigiano, nutmeg (if using) and basil in a large bowl until combined. Once spinach is cooled, combine with ricotta mixture.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. (skip steps 5-6 if using no boil noodles)
- Cook the noodles (6 at a time for dried pasta) until they are tender but still underdone (they will finish cooking as the lasagna bakes). Set aside in a bowl of cold water until ready to use. This will prevent pasta from sticking.
- Grease a 9X13 rectangular baking dish with the olive oil, add a large dollop of tomato sauce and spread it around the bottom of the pan. Put a layer of pasta (use 4-5 depending on size) in the dish (you may need to cut any excess to make them fit) top with a layer of tomato sauce, one-third of the spinach and ricotta mixture, and one-third of the grated mozzarella (use your fingers to spread it evenly). Season with salt and pepper if desired.
- Repeat the layers three times. For the top, cover with extra cheese.
- The lasagna may be made ahead to this point, wrapped tightly and refrigerated for up to a day or frozen.
- Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and the cheese is melted and lightly browned on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest a few minutes before serving, or cool completely, cover well, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze.
Recipe Website References
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Bon Appetit
- The layout of the individual recipe pages is concise and easy to follow. A lot of recipt websites often have lots of writing/description before they finally provide the recipe card at the end, but Bon Appetit gives you the info you need right away.
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Delish.com
- There are a few things I like about this site. First, I like the video demonstrating how to cook the recipe. I also think the "jump to recipe" button is helpful for users who don't care to read any background info and just want the recipe. Lastly, I like the two-column layout with ingredients on the left and instructions on the right.
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Food Network
- The functionality that I like about this site is allowing the user to select ingredients from the ingredient list and add them to a shopping list. I also think it's cool that users can add personal notes to the recipe.
Non-Recipe Website References
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AirBNB
- Airbnb utilizes a grid layout very well. The listing pages include lots of information without overwhelming the user because it is organized using column layout along with horizontal dividers. I also like the image preview aspect with the option to view more images - this could be an interesting way to include photos of the dish for the recipe page.
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Boosted Boards
- The main thing I like about this page is the image treatment. I think the faded out phots with bold black text overlapping looks really cool!
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Taco Buddha
- I just think this is a super aesthetic website overall. The color palette is really cohesive, the vibrant images pop out to the viewer, and the slideshow of photos/patterns on the homepage is cool and engaging.
