Baked Gorgonzola Rigatoni

This is a twist on baked mac-n-cheese with Gorgonzola and spinach. The Gorgonzola is tangy, but it isn’t too strong when mixed in with everything else. I made it with beef stock and ground turkey. If you wanted it to be a vegetarian dish, you could swap in vegetable stock and then either leave out the turkey all together or used a ground veggie substitute.

You will need:

• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 10 oz baby Bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
• 1/2 lb ground turkey, cooked through
• 15 oz fat free ricotta
• 1/2 c tomato sauce
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t pepper
• 1 lb rigatoni
• 1 c stock
• 8 oz Gorgonzola, crumbled
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1/2 c shredded mozzarella

Then you will…

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni to just about 2 minutes shy of al dente. Strain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
3. In a large, nonstick skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the liquid is evaporated.
5. Add in the spinach and cooked turkey. Cook another 3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the ricotta and tomato sauce until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper.
7. In a medium saucepan, heat the stock over medium heat. Melt in the Gorgonzola. Stir in the cream and allow to simmer 5 minutes until it thickens.
8. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the rigatoni with the ricotta mixture and the Gorgonzola cream sauce.
9. Spread the pasta mixture into the baking dish. Top with the mozzarella.
10. Bake 30-45 minutes until bubbly and golden.

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