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Creamy Pasta With Ricotta and Herbs
![Creamy Pasta With Ricotta and Herbs](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/05/27/dining/27appetite-1/27appetite-1-articleLarge-v2.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Salt
- 1pound short pasta, such as shells, cavatappi, chiocciole, farfalle, ditali or wagon wheels
- 12ounces fresh, whole-milk ricotta (about 1½ cups)
- ¾cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 2½cups coarsely chopped soft herbs, such as basil, chives, fennel fronds, parsley, mint, tarragon, chervil or dill (try for a combination of at least 3 kinds)
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Step 2
In the same pot, make the sauce: Add ricotta, Parmesan, olive oil, pepper and a large pinch or two of salt, and stir until well combined.
- Step 3
Add 1 cup pasta water to the sauce and stir until smooth. Add the pasta and herbs, and continue to stir vigorously until the noodles are well coated. Add more pasta water as needed for a smooth, soupy sauce. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Step 4
To serve, spoon the pasta into bowls and finish with more Parmesan, olive oil and pepper.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Delicious! I did add the lemon zest and toasted pinenuts I had leftover. Served with seared scallops on the side. Thanks for a great recipe!
I grew up in a Sicilian working class family and this dish was a frequent meal. Try it with Spinach or Brocolli Rabe.
That really sounds wonderful! Toasted shaved almonds ought to work instead of pine nuts, I'd guess, if one had the former in the pantry and not the latter. But your suggestion of pine nuts seems a real winner! I'm tempted to throw 15-20 peeled/deveined shrimp into the pasta pot as it nears completion. I've saved the recipe (and your suggestions) into my Recipes folder for future reference.
Perfect way to use up all the herbs that collect in the fridge. We re-heated leftovers with a glug of half-half to make it extra creamy.
Just made this recipe . Simple good . Add lemon zest to this for acid and makes all the ingredients shine bright !
Being more ambitious, you can make ricotta at home. Various recipes use lemon juice, vinegar or buttermilk. The buttermilk version is the best, very like the ricotta I had in Italy. Super delicious. I will try this recipe next time I make Ricotta.
In Sicily, the ricotta is probably sheep's milk ricotta which is all but impossible to find in this country. The end result would be different: cow's milk ricotta is less creamy and has a quite different taste. As stated in the intro, so many very simple Italian recipes demand perfect, pristine ingredients at their peak of ripeness or freshness. Once you start making substitutions, all bets are off.
Ricotta is really easy to make, and much better that most of the commercial varieties, which in the last few years have started adding gelatin for no clear reason, changing the consistency and taste in a negative way, in my opinion.
At four minutes left in the pasta cooking time, I discovered that my "I really need to use it up" ricotta had, in fact, gone bad. Clearly need to check that earlier. I can confirm that a last minute sub of cream cheese worked out, with a few TBS of heavy cream for good measure. Looking forward to trying this again with ricotta!
The water was probably too hot. Next time let the pasta water cool down a little or add it gradually. This will be hard to fix because I assume you've already added the pasta to the sauce, but if not, try whisking a small amount of sauce into some room temp water in a separate bowl, whisk till smooth, add more sauce, whisk, etc. till your sauce is re-emulsified, then add the pasta.
I lower heat to medium, put olive oil in first, then ricotta, which I whisk while pouring the water. I often put crushed garlic in the oil for a minute or two before ricotta, but I add salt, pepper & herbs after everything is blended. If the sauce seems too thick, I add a little 1/2 & 1/2. Then I put it on low & add the pasta, stirring till the pasta is warmed. If you get everything ready for the sauce while the water is coming to a boil, it comes together quickly, before the pasta cools much.
This was good, but a little heavy. My twenty something crowd gobbled it up. I added some sliced broccoli and asparagus, putting it in when I was mixing it together. I will try something like this again, but will reduce the oil and cheese a bit, using the pasta water to get the consistency right.
Wonderful flavor but it makes a LOT! We are only two and it was far more than 4 servings. Also be sure to use high quality parmesan that you fresh grate yourself -- I used 'pre-grated' which made it a bit grainy. Lovely overall with fresh mint and basil.
I really loved this. It was easy to make. I used dill, basil, and parsley from the garden. I will definitely make it again, maybe with some other combo of herbs. Thank you MC!
Really wonderful and so easy! I ended up using almost 3 cups of herbs (parsley, basil and oregano) and added a bit more pepper as well as the suggested lemon zest. This will be a regular in our Meatless Monday rotation. Big hit with our 14 year old too, my biggest food critic.
This is just the other ricotta pasta recipe that’s popular on NYT but just… better?
So good (and only one pot)! I had some herbs but not a lot, so I used baby arugula with some fresh thyme and dried italian herbs. I meant to add the lemon zest but I forgot until I was scrapping the bottom of the bowl. Will definitely make again for an easy, delicious meal!
Made this dish for New Year’s Eve. Added lemon juice, zest and whole pine nuts. Was delicious. Love the notes on this app. Incredibly helpful.
So good. Used parsley, basil, dill and mint. Added artichoke hearts, lemon zest and juice. Yum!
Loved the recommendation of adding lemon zest and asparagus and broccoli. Just sautéed before adding in sauce with pasta. Five adults loved it, made 1.25 lbs of pasta and with the added vegetables it was enough.
This recipe was yummy and super easy (and quick) to put together. I didn't have fresh herbs as the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of fresh herbs mix. I substituted 3/4 cup of dried dill, basil & parsley. I soaked the dried herbs in some hot pasta water for about 10 min to plump them up. Served with a fresh tomato vinaigrette salad. Thanks for this great recipe! I will make this again, it was a crowd pleaser.
Make it simpler, more savory and creamier by combining ricotta, parmesan, olive oil and a clove of garlic to your food processor or smoothie blender. Drain pasta, leave a large cup of liquid. Place blended ingredients into the same pot, heat and thin with liquid for 5 minutes before adding back the pasta. Heat through and allow pasta to absorb sauce. Lastlt add nuts, Herbs and any lightly cooked vegetables. Done!
Add ricotta parmesan oil and garlic to blender. Reserve pasta water to thin.
Super quick and easy-- coarsely chop the herbs while your water is boiling and otherwise there is no prep at all. I had this on the table within 15 minutes from start to finish. With good quality ingredients, the flavors are fresh and satisfying. It was a hit with the adults and kiddos alike and will definitely be on repeat!
This was very good. I used basil, parsley, chives, and mint. But 20 minutes? I had to pick, wash, pluck the leaves, and chop the herbs as well as all the other prep work. Maybe I could have managed it if I had tidy little bowls of clean herbs all set out for me.
Made this with Ziti... Bellweather Farms ricotta (one of the best)... and Basil, mint, dill, chives, and just a bit of oregano. Really loved it! Also used a mix of Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano.
Good, simple recipe. I used chives, parsley, thyme, and basil. I felt that was a bit of a taste overload and probably would not use both basil and thyme next time (one or the other).
My favorite pasta to make! If I happen to have shallot and fennel that need to be used, I saute those up separately and add them along with the pasta and herbs- fun addition!
This is so good for how easy it is. I’m eating it right now and already thinking about how soon I can make it again. Add the pasta water very slowly and whisk constantly. I only needed up using half of it to get the consistency I wanted. Threw some asparagus and peas in at the end of pasta cooking and topped with toasted pine nuts red pepper flakes. Also added some lemon zest and juice. But I think it would still be great as written. It’s SO GOOD.
Delicious and easy! Used a mix of parsley, basil and dill and found it super tasty. Added lemon juice and zest and some frozen peas. Made a ton and it was a big hit.
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