This creamy ricotta and lemon pasta is rich and savory yet bright and fresh, the perfect pasta for spring. It comes together with only a handful of ingredients in a few minutes. Plus some tips on cooking sustainably!
My dad made us this creamy ricotta and lemon pasta a few weeks ago when we were at his house upstate for an Easter bread making class. Lemon is one of my sister-in-law Julie’s all-time favorite ingredients. And when my dad and step-mom heard she’d be upstate, they just had to make this recipe for her. The dish was inspired by a New York Times recipe for creamy, lemony pasta. But with the way my dad cooks, he really only uses recipes as a guide. Ricotta cheese replaces the yogurt, making this dish even more creamy and flavorful. And of course, for my lemon-loving family, he doubled the lemon juice and zest, making this pasta not only creamy and savory, but packed with a tangy lemon punch.
And this is my favorite part. Besides the pot used to boil pasta, my dad made this creamy ricotta and lemon pasta all in one pan. The 5 ingredients (pasta, lemons, parmesan, ricotta, fresh herbs) are all staples in our house, and the dish comes together in under 20 minutes. The steps couldn’t be more simple. Cook the pasta until just under al dente, then add it to a huge pan with lots of olive oil. Toss it with the ricotta and a splash of pasta water until a creamy sauce comes together. After this comes the parmesan for that salty bite, and the lemon juice for an acidic zing. Add the zest last, to keep it as fresh and flavorful as possible. And green onions are used to garnish the plate, bringing a signature freshness.
LEMON PASTA, COOKED SUSTAINABLY
My dad is a fantastic cook and baker, and watching him cook is so much fun. He never wastes a single ingredient, and whatever really isn’t edible goes in the compost. For example: when making this creamy ricotta and lemon pasta, he swirled a spoonful of the pasta water around the empty ricotta cheese container to pick up any remnants of cheese, and added that back to the pasta. After the pasta was scooped out, he used that same water to blanch vegetables as meal prep for the week. And then he saved that starchy water to add as a thickener to soup. If he really didn’t need it, he’d use it to water the plants; starchy water is actually a great fertilizer.
There’s a huge push right now, as there should be, to be truly aware of the waste that we produce and how that impacts the environment. But my dad, raised by my grandpa who lived through the great depression and knew what it meant to not waste food, has always cooked this way. I have been trying to push myself to cook in a less wasteful way as well. And making this creamy ricotta and lemon pasta, a new weeknight staple in my recipe arsenal, is helping me do just that.
Creamy Ricotta and Lemon Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta (a shape, not a noodle)
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- 2 lemons juiced and zested
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 6-10 green onions, sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water until just under al dente. Heat a large skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water for the sauce, and the rest of the pasta water to recycle (see note) if wanted.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat in olive oil. Add in the ricotta, parmesan cheese, lemon juice and reserved cup of pasta water and toss until a creamy sauce comes together. Remove the pasta from the heat and toss just until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve with more parmesan cheese and topped with green onions.
Notes
- Use the reserved scoop of pasta water to clean out the ricotta cheese container, then add back to the sauce.
- Recycle your pasta water: use it to blanch veggies, or save as a base to add substance to a creamy soup. If not, use it to water plants; the starchy water is actually really good for them.
- Don’t forget to compost your lemons and green onion stems!
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