Bacon Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake

 

The Canadian Wildfires painted a hazy sky and a colorful sunset.

Bacon Spinach Ricotta Brunch Bake

Cook's Notes: 

While this dish is the perfect weekend brunch bake, it can also be enjoyed for dinner. It can be made ahead, and if you omit the bacon, you have a vegetarian dish. I love this recipe because it’s super versatile. You can customize the fillings to your taste. Try adding mushrooms, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, cooked sausage, ham, or different types of cheese like feta, gouda, Parmesan, or goat cheese.
The recipe serves 6-8 and creatively uses puff pastry to form a flaky crust.

It was adapted from jocooks.com. 

 
Ingredients:

• 2 sheets puff pastry (thawed)

• 6 large eggs (beaten)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 dash hot sauce (optional) I used a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup fresh spinach (chopped)
• 6 slices bacon (cooked, chopped)
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
• 1/4 teaspoon each Italian seasoning, basil, parsley flakes
• Sesame seeds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
• Carefully unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets. Roll one of them out to an 11″ square, then roll the other to a 12″ square. Use the 12″ sheet to line the bottom of your pan.

Lightly beat the eggs and reserve 1 tablespoon of the beaten eggs. Mix the rest of the eggs with the ricotta, hot sauce, spices, and spinach.

• Layer half of the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry in the pan, then half of each the bacon, cheese, and peppers. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Cover everything with the remaining puff pastry sheet and fold the edges in to secure the filling. Brush the pastry with your reserved tbsp of egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 1 hour or until the pastry is golden brown.
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Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edges to loosen them. Cut into slices and serve.

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