Lemon pasta with ricotta and butter beans – ready in just 20 minutes.
Lemon pasta with ricotta and butter beans – a wonderfully simple, creamy vegetarian pasta dish with plenty of freshness from lemon, soft ricotta and tender butter beans. A lovely combination of mild, creamy flavours, fresh lemon juice and fragrant lemon zest that makes the pasta feel light and satisfying at the same time. And it takes only 20 minutes to make.
I love simple pasta dishes like this, where just a few ingredients deliver so much flavour. Here it is the lemon in particular that makes all the difference. The juice brings a bright, fresh acidity, while the finely grated zest adds plenty of aroma. Together with the ricotta it becomes the most delicious creamy lemon sauce, clinging to every strand of pasta.
I stir the ricotta together with lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and freshly ground pepper. A little parmesan in the dish gives the sauce a touch more depth, but it can easily be left out if you prefer.
In the pan I fry onion and garlic, which form a lovely flavour base for the creamy ricotta sauce. Meanwhile I cook the pasta, and at the end everything is tossed together with the butter beans and broccolini. The butter beans add a soft, creamy texture, while the broccolini brings a little bite and freshness to the dish.
The result is a really good lemon pasta with ricotta that is creamy, fresh and pleasantly filling without feeling heavy. A perfect vegetarian pasta dish for the days when dinner needs to be easy but still full of flavour.
And perhaps the best part is that it all comes together in just 20 minutes. A lovely, uncomplicated weeknight dish with pasta, lemon and butter beans that I will certainly be making again and again.
Lemon pasta with ricotta and butter beans
Ingredients
- 200 g broccolini or Tenderstem broccoli
- 400 g pasta
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 150 g ricotta
- 1-2 lemons, finely grated zest and juice
- 25 g parmesan, finely grated
- 1 tin butter beans or cannellini beans, drained
- 4 stalks basil, leaves only – chopped
- 200 ml cooking water from the pasta
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive oil
Method
- Trim the tough end of the stalks off the broccolini and cut the rest into smaller florets. Set aside.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat a splash of oil in a frying pan and fry the onion in it until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for about a minute.
- Meanwhile, whisk the ricotta together with the juice and finely grated zest of one lemon, freshly ground pepper and a little of the pasta water. Pour it into the pan and heat through.
- Stir the parmesan into the sauce until it melts, and season the sauce to taste with more lemon juice and zest, salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Toss the butter beans and broccolini in the sauce and heat through for a couple of minutes before adding the basil – adding more pasta water if needed so you have a soft, creamy sauce.
- Finally, toss the pasta thoroughly in the sauce, adjust the consistency with more pasta water if needed, and serve.
Nutrition
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