Lemon Ricotta Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb rigatoni
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb hot or sweet Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 3 tbsp grated lemon zest, plus 6 tbsp lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced

For garnish:

• Basil leaves
• Crushed red pepper
• Lemon zest

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 350°.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large, preferably ovenproof, skillet over medium-high. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned through. Remove from the pan.
4. In the same pan, lower the heat to medium-low and melt the butter. Add the flour and stir for a minute, until it smells nutty. Slowly stir in the milk, scraping up any browned bits.
5. Stir in the garlic, lemon zest and reserved pasta water. Cook until it thickens into a sauce that coats the back of a spoon, 2 to 4 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in the ricotta, parmesan, lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Taste and adjust the salt.
6. Add the pasta, sausage, spinach and shredded mozzarella to the sauce and mix until everything's coated. If your skillet isn't ovenproof, move it to a 9-by-13 baking dish (we decided to use our NEW Square Crab Baking Dish, coming this December!).
7. Layer the fresh mozzarella slices on top. Cover the Lemon Ricotta Pasta Bake with foil and bake 20 minutes, then uncover and broil 2 to 3 minutes, until the top is golden in spots. Finish with basil, red pepper flakes and more lemon zest.