I recently came across a lovely recipe for Spinach with Noodles in a hundred-year-old cookbook. The spinach and noodles were smothered with cheese and milk, and then baked until hot and bubbly. It makes a nice side dish – though it is hardy enough that it could be the entree.
Here’s the original recipe:
This recipes calls for a lot of milk. The key to it not being too juicy, is to not cook the noodles too thoroughly. They should just be cooked in boiling water until they are al dente. They then will absorb the milk and soften some more while in the oven baking.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Spinach with Noodles
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked spinach
water
1 1/4 cups noodles
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cheese, grated (I used cheddar cheese.)
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350° F. Put water in a large saucepan, place on the stove and bring to a boil using high heat. Add noodles and reduce heat; simmer until the noodles are al dente. Remove from heat and drain.
In a separate pan heat the spinach; then remove from heat and drain any excess liquid.
Put half of the noodles in a baking dish. (I used a 3-cup baking dish; a quart dish would also work well.) Top with half of the spinach. Sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper, then add half the cheese. Add the other half of the noodles, followed by the remaining spinach. Sprinkle with the remaining half of the salt and pepper. Top with the remaining half of the cheese. Pour the milk over the layered mixture, then bake in the oven until hot and bubbly (about 45 minutes).
This sounds very good.
It’s yummy.
This sounds good. But does it really need 45 minutes in the oven? The pasta must get awfully soft. But I’d have this as a main meal for sure.
I think that the issue is the amount of milk that the recipe calls for. Even after 45 minutes in the oven, the mixture was somewhat juicy. When I updated the recipe, I indicated that the noodles should only be cooked in boiling in water until they are “al dente”. They then hopefully will absorb more of the milk relatively quickly when the mixture is put in the oven. Another option might be to just reduce the amount of milk used when making this recipe. If that was done, it probably won’t need to be in the oven as long.
Thanks!
Anything in a cheese sauce gets my vote 🙂
Hard to go wrong with a cheese sauce!!!
Agree!
Cheese improves many dishes. 🙂
Sounds like “lazy” lasagna! All it needs is a little ground beef, substitute mozzarella for cheddar and tomato sauce to top!
Your comment makes me think about how recipes are living documents that cooks tweak and update ove the years. A recipe could easily morph into something different over time.
What a tasty looking dish! Simply, but comfort food for all!
Comfort food is always good.
This sounds simple and tasty! I’ll be trying this one!
I think that you’ll like it.
I would definitely eat this as an entree.
It would definitely work as an entree.
Love spinach and noodles and love this recipe!
It’s tasty.
Keep up the good work!