Fresh herbs for topping (like basil, parsley, oregano)
Parmesan cheese, for topping.
Instructions
Boil water. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Heat pan, add olive oil. Add garlic and onion, cook 2 minutes. Add seasonings and spinach, a little bit at a time and wilt.
Mix cheeses, cottage cheese, and yogurt.
Cook pasta for 8-10 minutes.
In greased 9×13 oven-safe dish, layer: tomato sauce, noodles (don’t overlap them), cheese mixture, a bit of tomato sauce, noodles, spinach mixture, noodles… sprinkle bacon over one layer… repeat until all ingredients are gone (unless you have extra noodles, don’t pile those on!). Top layer should have tomato sauce.
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of olive oil (opt.), pour a bit of water around the side (if noodles need a bit more liquid), and top with reserved parmesan cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Serve topped with a little more parmesan and some fresh herbs.
Notes
On the episode I felt like I could have had more filling, so here are the changes I would make:
1 1/2 C parmesan, grated (divided 1 C, 1/2 C)
2 C (16oz.) cottage cheese
2 C (16 oz.) fresh mozzarella, 1/2″ cubes
Aren’t these tarts cute? I’m not sure if they’re technically tarts, but it’s what I called them. I’m not actually worried about what they’re called, since they taste so good. Plus, they’re healthy. Did you know that cabbage has lots of vitamin C and dietary fiber? I like to eat it.
We’ve gotten cabbage in our Abundant Harvest Organics box each week for about the past month or so. It’s been fun to find creative ways to prepare it. In this dish, cabbage and apples are cooked with honey, topped with pie crust, baked, then topped with gorgonzola cheese and reduced balsamic vinegar.
Does Gorgonzola scare you, because it’s one of those stinky, moldy cheeses (well, aren’t all cheeses technically mold?!)? It scares me a little, I’ll be honest. It’s about as far as I go in that department. However, it pairs well not only with cabbage, but also with beef. So does balsamic vinegar.
Speaking of beef, we ate the tarts with a Steak Salad (although on the show it’s just a salad with dressing… still yummy, but it better with steak). They are intended to be eaten together. They can be eaten separately, or with other things, but I think you should just trust me on this one! For the salad, I used spinach, arugula, and lettuce. Then topped it with sliced steak and some homemade Gorgonzola Dressing.
Happy Eating!
Individual Red Cabbage and Apple Tarts
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Serves: 4
A cute little cabbage treat, topped with stinky cheese… Sounds delicious?! Yes. Sounds delicious.
Ingredients
2 apples, julienned (looks like matchsticks)
1 head red cabbage, quartered, cored, shredded
2 heaping T honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 T chives, chopped (red onion could be substituted)
1-2 T olive oil
pepper
salt
1/4 C white wine (or apple cider vinegar)
1 pie crust
1 egg + 1 t water (for egg wash)
gorgonzola cheese (goat cheese could be substituted)
1/2 C balsamic vinegar (reduced to about 2-3 T)
Instructions
In a dry pan, cook cabbage and apple with honey, salt and pepper over med heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (if using red onion, add it now too).
Add garlic and chives. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add wine, turn heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add olive oil, stir.
Grease 4 small ramekins (oven-proof dishes). Divide cabbage mixture into the dishes.
Divide pie crust into 4 discs. Roll out. Top ramekins with crust, crimp around edges. Cut four vent holes in top of each tart with the point of a knife.
Whisk egg with water. Brush over pie crust (not too much – you don’t have to use it all).
Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until crust is flaky and baked (I used the toaster oven, a conventional oven may require less time).
While they bake, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until the liquid is reduced and it’s thickened and syrupy. Keep an eye on it – don’t let it burn!
Top each tart with some gorgonzola cheese and a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar.
Notes
We ate this with a steak salad with homemade gorgonzola dressing. I made up this dish to go with the steak salad. It could also be good with a regular green salad, a roasted chicken, a salad topped with chicken, scrambled eggs, wilted greens with bacon, beef or chicken crostini… but really pairs well with the steak salad. 🙂
3.1.09
(A couple of months ago I showed you how to make a pie crust. For this recipe I used one of the ones I’d frozen. I divided one crust in four to make the little tarts.)
