Lasagna Timbales

A few months ago my uncle sent me a bunch of old cookbooks that used to belong to my grandma.  I love looking through these- mainly to gawk at the disgusting looking depression-era recipes that people thought worthy of publishing.  One of them is "The American Woman's Cook Book," published in 1947.  Although most of the recipes in here are far from inspiring I did find an idea that looked interesting.  The book has a quote from the Canned Salmon Industry describing it this way:  "The clever hostess will make timbales of shredded potatoes, spaghetti or fine noodles and fill them with Salmon a la King- for instance."  Obviously I was not going to fill them with Salmon a la King, but I did like the idea of the pasta timbale.  I decided to test this out with a lasagna-style filling.  They turned out pretty well and make a unique appetizer.

Here's what you'll need:

1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, quartered
6 oz jar artichokes, drained
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 lb bucatini
1 1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
1 24-oz jar good pasta sauce (I used Wegman's Pomodoro Sauce)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Start by pouring the ricotta cheese in a mesh strainer.  Let the cheese drain while you prepare the other ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place garlic, artichokes and mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse chop until vegetables are in a small dice. 

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook mushroom mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has been expelled.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the bucatini until al dente.  Drain and rinse with cold water so that the pasta is cool enough to handle.

Spray muffin tin with olive oil.  Coil pasta strands around the outside of each muffin cup, leaving space for the filling in the middle.  You will probably have enough pasta for 18 muffin cups.  Set aside.

Stir together drained ricotta cheese, mushroom mixture, oregano, salt, pepper and 1 cup of pasta sauce.

Spoon mixture into pasta cups.  Top each cup with mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven.  Put cookie tray over muffin tin, hold the two tightly together and flip over.  Lift muffin tin off very carefully.  Gently remove each timbale from the pan and plate individually.  Serve, with the remainder of the sauce heated and passed at the table.