a penne bake with beef, tomatoes, mushrooms and pesto ricotta

EJL: "What do you want for dinner?"

LITTLE SIS: "Ground beef."

EJL: "..."

Penne Bake

2 C uncooked pasta
1 Tb olive oil
salt

5 sprigs basil, stemmed
1 Tb olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 C ricotta

1/2 onion, diced
1 1/2 lb ground beef
5 tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 C mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp (or more, if you like them) each: oregano, pepper, paprika, thyme
1/2 C red wine

1 C ricotta
1 C grated parmesan

Start boiling a big pot of water with olive oil and salt. Cook the pasta and set to the side.

In a food processor, blend the basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and 1 C ricotta until smooth. Set to the side.

Saute the onion in 2 Tb olive oil until soft (a few minutes) then add the ground beef and brown a little. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and spices (don't worry if the meat is still a little pink at this point). Cover and let steam for about three minutes, then uncover. Add 1/2 C red wine and let the liquids reduce.

(The sign that a sauce is properly reduced: Scrape a spatula across the bottom of the pan to reveal the pan surface. Watch how the sauce flows back into the cleared space. If it moves slow, like syrup, it's ready).

Butter a baking dish and line the bottom with a layer of pasta. Sprinkle with a little parmesan.

Add a layer of meat. Add all the basil ricotta in one layer. If it doesn't cover the whole surface, add more plain ricotta to fill in the gaps.

Add another layer of pasta, then another layer of meat. Top it all with shredded parmesan and pack it down with the back of a spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.