Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

This is a great favourite of mine, but I’m only cooking it tonight because the other half is playing football and so isn’t home until late. It isn’t really too time consuming but I like to take my time over it because it’s a therapeutic dish to make.

This lasagne ALWAYS works – unlike with meat lasagne where your sauce might be too runny, or your meat too dry. The making of the ‘meat’ part – the spinach and tomato – is too easy to worry about, and the ‘sauce’ part – the ricotta mix – is 100 times easier than the traditional bechamel.

This recipe probably serves at least 6, but I like to make lots when I cook lasagne because it’s so easy to freeze. Not that there’s often much left when I make this one!

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion

500g fresh spinach

1 tsp nutmeg

300ml creme fraiche

500g ricotta

1 egg

200g fresh lasagne sheets

250g cherry tomatoes

20g parmesan

1. Chop the onion and add to a saucepan with the olive oil. Saute over a medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add the spinach (you’ll need to do this bit by bit!) and stir until it has all wilted. Stir in the nutmeg, and season. Leave to sit in the saucepan, off the heat.

2. Put the creme fraiche, ricotta and egg into a large bowl and beat until well combined. Seson with salt and plenty of black pepper.

3. Half the cherry tomatoes.

4. Drain any excess liquid from the spinach, and you can start layering yout lasagne.

5. In a large ovenproof dish, layer your ingredients. I usually do – spinach, tomato, lasagne sheets, ricotta mix, lasagne sheets, spinach, tomato, lasagne sheets, ricotta mix. Make sure you top with the ricotta!

6. Top with grated parmesan and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.