Ricotta

I’m offering you the basic recipe for filling these eggplant rolls. You can take it in any direction you like, adding spinach, raisins, pinenuts, prosciutto, or whatever else sounds good to you. Eggplant rollatini are versatile in another way, too. Because the individual rolls are easy to serve, they are wonderful as a first course for a big crowd—like a family gathering—or as part of an Italian-American buffet. For a smaller crowd, this makes a substantial main course that needs only a first-course salad to make it a meal. If you’d like to make these simple rolls even easier to fill, you can cut the sticks of mozzarella into little cubes and stir them right into the ricotta filling.

You may be used to the large, pizzeria-size version of calzones, but I’m offering you this more typical Neapolitan version. Once you have the knack of making and filling the dough, the rest is easy. You can put whatever you like inside. Just make sure the fillings are drained of most of their excess liquid—the way I drain the ricotta overnight or squeeze the excess moisture from the spinach.

If you choose to make the manicotti with pasta squares, fill and roll them on a damp towel—it will make them easier to handle. For a lighter, thinner sauce, add a little stock to the tomato sauce or to the baking dish after you add the sauce, or don’t cook the sauce quite so much when you make it. If you have some fresh basil in the kitchen, tear some leaves and scatter them over the manicotti in the dish right before you bake them.

This pasticciata can be prepared entirely in advance and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Let the refrigerated pasticciata stand at room temperature for about an hour before baking.

To keep them both intact, add the little “pockets” of ricotta and the eggplant pieces just before serving the pasta or turning it into the baking dish. It is one of the nuances in cooking that make a difference. When you take a bite of the finished pasta, you’ll get little bursts of different tastes, which you wouldn’t enjoy if the eggplant pieces were broken apart and the ricotta was mixed in with the pasta. If you choose to bake the pasta, make sure the pasta is well moistened when it goes into the baking dish—the heat of the oven will dry it out a little. You can toss little pieces of mozzarella or Fontina cheese in with the pasta before adding the ricotta and eggplant if you like. Just make sure the consistency of the pasta stays fluid and creamy.

I am always telling you not to add oil to the water when you cook pasta, because it will reduce the adherence of sauce to the pasta. Cooking long, flat pasta—like these lasagna noodles—is the exception. They have a tendency to stick together when they cook; the oil will help prevent that. Inevitably, some noodles will break. Save the pieces; they will come in handy to patch the layers of lasagna. You’ll notice in the meat-sauce recipe that the final consistency of the sauce should be fairly dense. Following that pattern, I suggest you drain the ricotta first, to remove a lot of the moisture. Removing excess moisture from the ingredients will result in a finished lasagna that is more compact and intense in flavor. You may assemble the lasagna completely up to a day before you serve it, but don’t cook it until the day you plan to serve it. Lasagna tastes better and is easier to cut if it is allowed to stand about an hour after it is removed from the oven. It will retain enough heat to serve as is, or, if you prefer, pop it back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. My favorite way to serve lasagna is to bake it and let it stand 3 to 4 hours. Cut the lasagna into portions, then rewarm it in the oven.

A pound of “jumbo” pasta shells contains about thirty-six. This recipe makes enough filling for about thirty shells, so it’s likely you’ll have a few extra shells, which may come in handy, as some shells break in the box or during cooking. Be sure to cook the shells very al dente before filling them, or they will tear when you try to stuff them. Individual servings of stuffed shells make an impressive presentation. If you have enough individual baking dishes, divide the shells and sauce among them, then top with cheese, keeping in mind that you might need a little more cheese to top individual servings than is called for in the recipe.

The “riga” in “rigatoni” means “stripe.” It is those stripes and rigatoni’s wide, hollow shape that make them perfect for a chunky sauce like this one. You can make the sauce a day or so in advance; just don’t add the ricotta and grated cheese until the last minute.

If you haven’t bought a deep-frying thermometer yet, this is a good time to do it. A few of the pizzette may “spring a leak” while they fry—you can minimize the risk by not overfilling the pizzette, and by wetting and sealing the edges well as you form them.

What makes this frittata different is the bread. It soaks up the egg and cream and gives the frittata a firm but still tender texture. It also makes it easier to slide onto a serving plate, if that’s how you want to serve it.

These little lasagnas, made with fat-free ricotta and reduced-fat mozzarella, are cheesy and satisfying and totally big on flavor. Make sure the dishes (8-inch, preferably) you use are broilerproof—they go under the flame to make the cheese brown and bubbling right before serving.

This is for the pasta shunners out there who still find themselves pining for a big, gooey serving of lasagna. Nothing can really replace the toothsome texture of fresh pasta, but given the amount of “bad” carbs a serving of pasta contains, it’s understandable that some choose to avoid it altogether. Thin slices of zucchini and eggplant stand in for the pasta in this lasagna, made with fat-free ricotta and low-fat marinara sauce. It all adds up to a truly delish alternative to traditional high-calorie lasagna.

Who would have thought those thin little crepes filled with ricotta and baked in red sauce and cheese could be so diabolically caloric? The fat in the ricotta, the fat in the mozzarella, the fat in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and even the fat in the olive oil—it adds up quickly. A typical serving has about 46 grams of fat and more than 900 calories. With a few clever swaps, I got it down to just over 8 grams and 200 calories. A few meals like this, and you’ll be into your little black dress in no time.

This dish is so simple, yet it could be served at any elegant dinner party. It is equally good warm or cold and makes a great addition to a Sunday brunch.

Leaving a little skin on the eggplants will add color and texture to the dish. The small, firm eggplants are not too bitter and when they are firm, they will not soak up as much oil, so they do not need to be salted and pressed. However, if you leave all the skin on, especially when you use baby eggplant, the skin overpowers the flavor of the flesh and the texture is too tough, overall.