There is something special about pasta dishes that deliver far more flavour than the time and handful of ingredients they ask of you – and that is exactly the case with my lemon and ricotta pasta.
It is a very quick and genuinely delicious dish that can be on the table in under 20 minutes. The pasta is tossed in a creamy sauce of ricotta, parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest, which strikes just the right balance between soft and rich on one side, fresh and tangy on the other.
The method is simple. While the pasta cooks, shallots and garlic are briefly fried in a little oil in a pan. Ricotta, parmesan and lemon are whisked together with a little pasta water into a silky cream. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, it goes straight into the pan with the ricotta cream, and you simply adjust with a little extra pasta water so the sauce clings beautifully to the pasta.
I like to use rigatoni, because it has just the right shape to soak up the creamy sauce – but of course you can choose whichever pasta shape you like best.
A little tip: I love it when the dish has plenty of lemon flavour, so I use both the juice and zest of two lemons. You can start with just one, though, and then adjust to your own taste. That way you get exactly the right amount of acidity in the dish.
Lemon and Ricotta Pasta
Ingredients
- 500 g pasta, preferably rigatoni
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 250 g ricotta
- 50 g parmesan, finely grated
- 2 lemons, finely grated zest and juice
- 200 ml pasta water
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive oil
Method
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta al dente according to the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat a frying pan with a little olive oil and fry the shallots until soft and translucent.
- Then add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes more – season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Meanwhile, put the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl. You may want to start with the juice of just one lemon if they are very juicy, and adjust with more lemon later once the dish has come together.
- When the pasta is almost al dente, pour 200 ml of the pasta water into the bowl with the ricotta and whisk well until smooth. Keep the rest of the pasta water, as you may need more.
- Tip the pasta into the pan with the ricotta cream and toss everything together well. Adjust the consistency with more pasta water if needed – the sauce should be soft and creamy.
- Season to taste with more lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper, and serve.
Nutrition
Premium
Bare simpelthen så lækker en pastaret! Jeg serverede kylling og frisk basilikum til, og det var bare så lækkert
Dine opskriver slår aldrig fejl
Hej Betina
Åhhh en skøn besked at få, tusind tak fordi du giver dig tid til at skrive 🙂
Kan Dianna
Simpel og såååå lækker
Åhhh tusind tak altså:)
Warm wishes, Dianna