A friend and neighbor of ours, who takes his cooking very seriously, makes this pasta often. It's quite simple (boil pasta, toss sauce ingredients into a metal bowl, stir over the boiling water pot, toss, serve) but somehow he makes it complicated, only because he dedicates himself so enthusiastically to his cooking. For you, it can be simple.
This pasta can be pulled together in as long as it takes the pasta to cook; between 9 and 13 minutes, depending on the shape you use. Because it is so simple, uncooked and has so few ingredients, it makes a difference to choose the best-quality ingredients you can find. Especially when it comes to the ricotta. If you can avoid the skim and commercially made versions, do. If you have time, you can even make your own.
The pasta shapes that best compliment this sauce are small shaped pieces like rotini, penne, fusilli, and gemili, although obviously, anything will work. Again, quality makes a big difference here. Now's a time to spring for something better than plain-wrap spaghetti. However, if it's all you have, you'll still be eating well.
Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Basil
serves 6
1 pound good-quality pasta, in a short twisted shape or with a hole (such as penne or gemili)
1 15-ounce package (about 2 cups) fresh ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
zest of 1 lemon
juice of half the lemon
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 loosely packed basil leaves, sliced thin, as in a chiffonade
Set a pot of water to boil. When it boils, add a few teaspoons of salt and the pasta.
In a metal bowl wide enough to fit over the top of the pot, mix together the remaining ingredients, excluding the basil. When there are about 2 minutes remaining in the pasta's cooking time, place the bowl over the pot and slowly stir the ricotta and other ingredients. You should see it loosening as it warms.
When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it, add the basil to the bowl of sauce and toss with the drained pasta.
via Recipe | The Kitchn http://ift.tt/1q8FuLw
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That looks so good!
07.22.08 9:23AMI'm making that soon . . . maybe tonight.
07.22.08 9:39AMI just ate lunch, but now I feel hungry again.
07.22.08 10:31AMCurses!
I made this last night and it was delicious! Very creamy. Although I would use the juice from the whole lemon, but I personally like a little extra lemony flavor.
07.23.08 9:38AM"1/2 loosely packed basil leaves"... I'm assuming they mean "1/2 cup"? although 1/2 barrel would be fine for me... I LOOOOVE fresh basil!
07.25.08 7:06AMI made this for dinner this weekend and it was delicious! I would recommend adding more basil (you can never have too much basil!). I also grilled chicken and tossed it in, which was a good choice too!
07.28.08 6:29AMI sent this recipe to a friend to try and she actually made it for my birthday lunch. Awww.... It was good- nice and summery! The basil and lemon were nice touches.
07.29.08 10:30AMThis has quickly become a fallback recipe for me. Only since there's still snow on the ground here in DC, I used frozen peas instead of basil. Delicious.
03.05.09 10:15PMWe made this last night. I took the suggestion to add grilled chicken, which we enjoyed. We just felt the pasta itself was missing something. It was good, but not great. Too subtle in DBF's estimation. I personally found it to be a big calorie kick for something that did not blow me away. We choose the best ricotta we could get at a local green market, but maybe that was part of the issue. I also think we just tend to like food that is brighter in some way...for lack of a better way of putting this. Maybe the full juice of the lemon would have helped? Not sure, but we both agreed it was not a keeper.
05.25.09 9:07AMI made it tonight with caramelized onions on top and balsamic glazed pork chops. My picky husband, 4 year old and 1 year old all ate it!
05.01.12 10:01PMI plan to make this tonight with the addition of shrimp. There is definitely one change I will make, though. It seems that there should be garlic in here somewhere - that oversight might attribute to the "subtle" or bland comments on the recipe. Garlic would add depth and dimension to the flavors. I'll update the post once I try it out :)
05.08.12 3:55PMSo, success! Here's what I modified:
05.08.12 10:17PMI only had 1/2 the ricotta so I supplemented with a big scoop of cream cheese. I also sautéed shrimp with garlic and tossed it with the pasta and sauce. Finally, when I served it I finished it with a little fresh parm and a couple of drops of lemon juice. It was incredible!!
Had an overload of ricotta and thought this sounded good. Very quick and easy, flavor is subtle and I like the hint of lemon. However, much like Alfredo sauce this was way too creamy and rich for me. Maybe I can try it with a skim ricotta. Sauce that is left I am going to use with pancakes...should be interesting!
05.23.12 9:48PMThis was great! I used the zest and juice of one whole lemon. If you really love lemon use two. Also I toasted some pine nuts to sprinkle on top. This would be delicious with some baby arugula stirred in as well.
05.28.12 7:48PM