Polenta al Forno With Spinach, Ricotta and Fontina
- Total Time
- About 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound spinach
- 2cups ricotta
- Salt and pepper
- Pinch cayenne
- 1teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼cup grated Parmesan
- 4ounces fontina or Swiss cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
- 2tablespoons butter
- Basic soft polenta (see recipe), kept warm
Preparation
- Step 1
Blanch spinach briefly in a large pot of boiling water, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze all excess moisture from spinach and roughly chop.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, combine chopped spinach and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper, then add cayenne, lemon zest, half the Parmesan and all but 2 tablespoons of the fontina and stir well.
- Step 3
Butter a 9- by 12-inch casserole dish. Ladle in half of the warm, soft polenta and spread with a spatula to make a thin layer. Spoon spinach mixture evenly over it. Top with remaining soft polenta and spread to smooth the surface. (May be made ahead up to this point, then covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.)
- Step 4
Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and fontina. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
This is one of my favorite dishes, I have made it many times. One suggestion: I find that a quick saute of the spinach rather than blanching is easier, works just as well and is a better water-wise choice for those of us in the southwest.
Loved it. Picked really good ricotta et switched the fontina because none was available with a really sharp Tomme (i know it's French, sorry about the that :D) and dropped a few wild mushrooms that i pan fried and deglazed with white wine. Really, really good.
Next time I will put 1/3 of polenta on bottom. Top needs to be thicker. Have made numerous times. Quite good. Glad to have another use for polenta, my favorite food!
This recipe definitely goes into the rotation! I agree with Jpgdance about quickly sautéing the spinach. The dish was pretty lemony, but I liked that. I embellished the polenta with 3 ½ cups water and a cup of milk, and added a cup of grated parmesan to it when done before assembling the dish. It was really good. My 21 month old granddaughter loved it, too.
Can u freeze after cooking then reheat and servir it up
We loved this dish. The filling to polenta ratio is just right, making it a bit lighter than other polenta casseroles I’ve tried. The lemon zest is not to be missed, great flavor. We will make this on repeat this fall.