I'm a major devotee of lemons, their juice and get-up-and-go are sufficient to change a basic dish into something that preferences unadulterated daylight. Besides, I LOVE ricotta, particularly when I happen to purchase new and smooth ricotta from the cheddar counter in Italy.
Spinach: whitened (immediately bubbled) spinach works fine in this formula, and cooking spinach and pasta across the board pot spares time and cleaning up. In any case, make a point not to overcook spinach, that will bring about the loss of supplements, flavor and brilliant green shading.
Varieties: in the last moment of cooking time, instead of spinach, you can include solidified peas. Or on the other hand you can go for progressively innovative varieties like sauteed asparagus, courgettes or artichokes. Some of the time, I just include new and crude fixings like destroyed arugula, basil or cherry tomatoes, they all work perfectly with lemon and ricotta!
- 1/2 lb pasta (spaghetti, linguine, penne, fusilli...) (gr 220)
- 6 oz fresh baby spinach (gr 170)
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta (about gr 230)
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve (gr 35)
- 1 large unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
- 1 lemon cut into 4 wedges, to serve (optional)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 garlic clove, grated or pressed
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Meanwhile, prepare the ricotta sauce.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon zest and juice. Season with 1/4 tsp of salt and a good pinch of pepper.
- Stir until well combined, taste and make sure you're happy with the seasoning.
- In the last minute of the pasta's cooking time, add spinach to the pot. Stir well and push the leaves down to submerge them in water.
- After max 1 minute, reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water, then drain.
- Return pasta and spinach to the pan, add the ricotta sauce and part of the reserved cooking water. Stir well to evenly coat the pasta in the sauce and add more cooking water as needed for a smooth and creamy sauce.
- Serve immediately and garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges (for extra freshly squeezed juice, but I leave it optional). Plus, I love adding a good pinch of red pepper flakes, you might give it a go!
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