Pesto and Ricotta Pasta
This might be the easiest fancy-feeling dinner you’ll make all week: my pesto and ricotta pasta is creamy, zingy, and loaded with lemony rocket and walnuts. A five-minute pesto, a swoop of ricotta, and dinner is done in 20.
Ingredients
For the pesto
- 60 g wild rocket arugula
- 1 garlic clove
- 30 g walnuts
- 25 g Grana Padano cheese grated
- 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of ½ lemon
- a handful of fresh basil optional
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the pesto ricotta sauce
- 250 g ricotta cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
To garnish
- Basil leaves to garnish
- 20 g toasted pine nuts optional
Instructions
Cook the pasta
- Boil a large pot of salted water, cook pasta to your desired bite (11-13 minutes), and reserve 2 cups of pasta water before draining.
Make the pesto
- In a food processor whiz rocket (arugula), walnuts, garlic, finely grated Grana Padano cheese, lemon juice and lots of olive oil. Season with just a pinch of salt, since the cheese is giving the pesto a sharp, salty edge already. This takes only 5 minutes. You can up the flavor by adding a handful of basil and a few tablespoons of pine nuts, but this is totally optional (and more expensive). Blend until smooth and creamy.
Finish the ricotta pesto sauce
- In a large frying pan over low heat, gently warm the pesto (don’t let it burn). Add the ricotta and break it up with a spatula until creamy. Stir in the lemon zest and loosen the sauce with some of the reserved pasta water until it’s silky, but not too runny.
Toss with pasta
- Add the hot drained pasta to the sauce and mix until evenly coated. Taste and season again if needed with salt and black pepper.
Garnish and serve
- Top with toasted pine nuts, torn basil leaves, an extra scatter of grated cheese if you fancy—and serve straight away to enjoy all the creaminess !
Video
Notes
- Don't throw away all of the pasta water, keep some back! I use it to adjust the sauce consistency—starting with half a cup and add more as you need it.
- Toast the pine nuts for that toasty flavor bite at the end. Just a few minutes in a dry pan and you're done, but keep an eye on them so they don't burn.
- Be careful not to burn the pesto, you only need a low gentle heat to warm it through, once you add the hot pasta it will all blend nicely together.
Nutrition
Calories: 563kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 15gFat: 55gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gMonounsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 598mgPotassium: 257mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 915IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 316mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Tag me @candyflossiecooks on Instagram! I'd love to see how your dish turns out ! ✨