Sweet Potato Pasta with Ricotta-Spinach combo: Heavenly

I have this crazy habit of throwing everything left in my fridge ( or most of them ) together to make a new dish. Although this mostly works in case of Indian curries, rice or breads.. but is a strict folly in baking. A quotable no. of times I have ruined my bakes due to this funny instinct of mine, adding some or other thing just to make good use of it or getting a ‘’healthier’’ version of the recipe I am reading.. Phew !! I guess we all know how hard-hearted the moment is when you have to chuck away the dish which you made with so high hopes and love. I have done that, many many times and I  know you understand how much does it ache :(

There are some things which have worked as well, like this Pasta. Honestly, I was thinking not to post the actual disaster story of mine but then thought it might save you a lot of time if you also seeks pleasure in mixing and matching ingredients like me. So here it goes.. That Sunday I actually was willing to make a Sweet Potato ravioli as a surprise to hubby who is so fond of it. The thought that I would need a Pasta machine did cross my mind but then I thought of making good use of my hand muscles and started kneading the dough. After like 15 minutes of rigorous kneading, the dough was nowhere near to pliable. And if that was not enough, the actual pain was to roll it into a thin layer so that I could cut the  raviolis in shape. And yes, I forgot to mention, I was making the stuffing and sauce aside this whole procedure.

Anyways, raviolis didn’t come out anywhere near to good and I just boiled a batch to check them which was of no edible standards. So here I was left with a good amount of stuffing with me which was utterly delicious and I wanted to put that of some use so that hubby doesn’t mock me of ruining his Parantha Day  ( Opps !! Did I tell you  that Sunday is Parantha Day for us :D ). Anyways, so I simply tossed it up with some boiled Pasta and satisfied our taste buds. 
Sigh ! So that was the story how I managed to turned our Sunday breakfast disaster into an actually healthy and flavourful dish. :D

Sweet potato mixed well with the heavenly combo of Spinach and Ricotta cheese which neutralises the sweetness and created a perfect balance along with the added spices.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup uncooked Pasta  (I took mixed shapes)
• 2 cups Sweet potato
• 2 cups packed spinach , chopped
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 large onion, chopped v small
• 3-4 garlic pods, minced
• 1 tsp Red chili pepper
• 2 tbsp oil
• Black pepper to garnish
• Salt to taste

Preparation: 

• Roast or pressure cook sweet potato with its skin on, puree it when cools off. Keep aside.
• Blanch spinach leaves in microwave for a minute, and coarsely grind it when cool off. Keep aside.
• Cook Pasta according to the package instructions, drain and keep aside.

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, fry onion till  it turns brown. Add minced garlic and sauté for just a minute. 
• Add pureed Sweet Potato to it and cook it uncovered for 5-6 minutes stirring occasionally in between just to avoid it sticking. Add salt and red chili powder according to your taste at this moment  to neutralise the sweetness of Sweet Potato. But be careful not to add too much salt since we will have salt in cheese and white sauce as well. Once it’s done, keep it aside to cool off. 
• Now, in a bowl, combine ricotta cheese and spinach along with the dried herbs and spices. Mix it with the sweet potato mixture. Keep aside. 

• Meanwhile, prepare white sauce. Heat 1 tsp butter in a pan, roast 2 tbsp White flour till brown keeping the flame low.
• Add 1 cup milk stirring  continuously to avoid forming lumps. Simmer for 2 minutes till it gets thicker.
• Throw in black pepper and English Mustard sauce, you can add a little salt into this.. but don’t overdo it.
• Don’t keep this sauce for longer else it starts thickening further, prepare this while sweet potato is being cooked so that you can immediately use it after its done.

• Coming back to the Sweet potato mixture, toss it with the pasta and place into a baking dish. 
• Pour white sauce over it and a bit of Cheddar cheese if you like, bake for 10-12 min on 180 degrees. Don’t bake for longer than this else it will get mushy as mine. 
• Sprinkle more black pepper on top, if you like and enjoy warm.

Notes: 

• Since I over baked it, the Pasta got mushy. Remember to keep a check on the time, no longer than 10-12 minutes depending on your Oven. 
• Hence the photos are also not good, will cook it again very soon and upload better pics. 
• Keep a check on salt, I put a little in all three mixtures hence it was a bit too much for me. 
• The sweet taste of sweet potato doesn’t reflect at all in the recipe, still you can skip red pepper if its too spicy for you.