Love Nests

Submitted by mickeydownunder

"Always inspired by what I see and read! Hope this SIMPLE recipe your heart, soul and mind it does feed! :) NOTE: I used Barilla Pasta Wholewheat Spaghetti 3 times as much fiber as regular pasta and tastes GREAT too! I broke the ingredients up re Marinara Sauce then method, Bechamel Sauce then method, then ingredients for filling and method. Is NOT that difficult and if you have any questions, PM me :) WHOO HOO! So NOT rinse the pasta! :) ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://whatsonthelist.net/2013/03/22/love-is-in-the-air-love-nests/"

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 24
• Serves: 4-8

ingredients

• 2 (28 ounce) diced tomatoes with juice
• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 6 anchovies, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 40 g pancetta, finely diced
• 40 g sausage meat
• salt and pepper
• 10 g unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 125 ml milk
• 2 teaspoons fresh chives
• 3 tablespoons pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 120 g fresh ricotta
• 75 g frozen chopped spinach, thawed, WELL drained of any excess liquid
• 65 g sun-dried tomatoes
• cooking spray
• 250 g dry pasta

directions

1. Heat deep fry pan then add oil; fry onions for about 3 minutes; add garlic; fry additional 2 minutes until onions are soft.
2. Add in tomato paste; stir for about a minute until combined.
3. Add in diced tomatoes in tomato juice, bay leaf, anchovies, water, red pepper flakes and xylitol; adjust to personal taste.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 45 minutes.
5. In additional fry pan, fry pancetta and chorizo sausage meat until golden brown; add to marinara mixture.
6. Marinara done! :).
7. In a saucepan, add all bechamel ingredients (except cheese) and stir "continuously" with a wooden spoon until sauce thickens.
8. Heat oven to 180°C (350F).
9. Place breadcrumbs on a baking tray; bake for 5 minutes (until dry, not browned); remove; set aside.
10. In a bowl, combine ricotta and spinach.
11. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water; cook for 7 minutes (al dente); drain; oil spray; set aside for about 10 minutes.
12. Place 1/2 cup of cooked pasta into a plastic measuring cup. Place the 1/4 plastic cup inside the cup with pasta. If you don't have plastic measuring cups, you get the idea that the spaghetti needs to be "packed" down tightly; can do by hand while pasta is "in" something.
13. QUICKLY, turn measuring cup over onto marinara sauce; be gentle but quick lol You want it so it looks like a mound.
14. G-E-N-T-L-Y, with the back of a teaspoon push down on the spaghetti to form a round hold without going through the bottom of the spaghetti. You can stop with the teaspoon fits inside the nest with a bit a room around it too!
15. Place 1 - 2 teaspoons of spinach ricotta mixture in the base of the nests. with a spoon (or with your fingers ;-) ) GENTLY push down until it covers the base. You do not want to push too hard that the nest will collapse. ;-).
16. Top with 1 -2 teaspoons of bechamel sauce.
17. Top with breadcrumbs; can add a few pieces of shredded cheese (optional).
18. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.