Author Notes
Must be the onset of autumn, plus how busy the academic year is... cook on the weekends, reheat during the week. This dish was a 100% invention from top to bottom, inspired by some parts of the meatball casserole you can find elsewhere. I made this as a deep casserole, layered. That meatball dish used that ricotta layer in it, so I ported that over. —Brian Coppola
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Ingredients
- Sauce
-
28 ounces
DOP San Marzano tomatoes
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6 ounces
tomato paste
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2 tablespoons
rosemary
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2 tablespoons
thyme
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2 tablespoons
oregano
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1 tablespoon
white pepper
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1 tablespoon
black pepper
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1 tablespoon
ground cayenne pepper
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1 tablespoon
red pepper flakes
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2
sweet onions, finely diced
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2
red bell peppers, finely diced
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2 tablespoons
roasted garlic, minced
- Casserole and Assembly
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4-5 cups
head cauliflower, chopped large
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4-5 cups
broccoli, chopped large
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8 ounces
ricotta
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8 ounces
cream cheese
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1 tablespoon
white pepper
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1 tablespoon
oregano
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1
egg
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2
roasted chickens, rough pull meat
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8 ounces
shredded mozzarella
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8 ounces
shredded Italian 4-cheese mix
Directions
- Sauce
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Dice and start to caramelize the onion in some EVOO. About halfway through, add in the peppers. Half is used for the sauce; the other half for the dish.
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Put all of the ingredients for the sauce, including half of the onion and peppers, in a food processor and blend well.
- Casserole and Assembly
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The deli counters at most store do a nice job with roasting chickens, so I just buy two whole roasted chickens and pull the meat, which saves hours of roasting time.
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Layer 1: Pour a cup of sauce into the pepper and onions and place in the bottom of a large/tall casserole.
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Layer 2: Combine ricotta and softened cream cheese with an egg, white pepper, and oregano. Mix the broccoli and cauliflower into the ricotta mixture and layer onto the onions and peppers.
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Layer 3: 8 oz shredded mozzarella.
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Layer 4: Mix 2 cups of sauce with the chicken, and layer onto the cheese.
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Layer 5: Add the remaining sauce; top with 8 oz Italian cheese mixture.
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Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 F. Serve with a dusting of grated parmesan cheese.
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About 1/18 of this is a pretty reasonable serving, clocking in at only about 260 calories (12 g fat and 17 total carbs)
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