Fettuccine With Ricotta and a Fistful of Mint

By Sam Sifton

Rating: 4(1,011)
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This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen.

Set a pot of nicely salted water over high heat to boil. When it does, add the fettuccine, then get the rest of your dinner ready as it cooks to al dente. Chop up a fistful of mint and a small shallot if you have one (half a small onion if you don’t), mixing them into a cup or two of fresh ricotta, then loosening the mixture with a healthy drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add some salt and pepper to taste, perhaps a shake of red pepper. When the pasta’s done, which’ll be about the same time as you’re done with the sauce, drain it in a colander and add it to a big warm bowl, then fold the cheese into it, mixing gently. Serve to adoration.

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4 out of 5

1,011 user ratings

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Comments

Jennifer6 years ago

The adoration kicked in only after we made some major changes – goat's cheese for ricotta, basil for mint, and the juice of an entire small lemon (otherwise everything exactly as written). The ricotta and mint did not produce anything greater than the sum of its parts, but with extra lemon to lighten it the goat's cheese created a happy marriage with basil and this dish really began to sing!

Hope6 years ago

I have trouble with raw alliums, too. Try chopping the shallot first and letting it steep in the lemon juice a bit before you add everything else. It takes very little time in the acid to soften the effect.

dimmerswitch6 years ago

In the same theme as Dorie Greenspan's Spoonable Ricotta (Everyday Dorie), this rendition is really tasty too. Not just for pasta but to top potatoes. (I'm thinking this will be particularly good with new potatoes and Spring peas in market in a few weeks.) It is also yummy spread on toast. (Ask me how I know that.) Or as dip for veggies. Or to spread on crackers. Or to eat with a spoon. A good quality ricotta, like Bel Gioioso Con Latte, works as well in reduced fat as whole milk.

BronDewar1 week ago

Sautéd spring onions snow peas edamame beans, sesame oil. Heated my ricotta through in oven. Made up a green goddess sauce. Cooked fettucine then tossed through vegetables and crumbled through the ricotta drizzled the green goddess sauce over and gave it a punch with spicy chilli crisp.

Tammy3 months ago

Lovely quick meal. Wondering how others may have managed to serve a warm dish. I made the cheese mixture with room temperature ricotta but by meal was lukewarm at best. My husband just threw his plate into the microwave for 30 seconds to heat it up - and it didn't seem to suffer. I also soaked the minced shallot in cold water for a minute before putting in mixture to draw out the sharpness and boost the sweetness of the shallot.

Heather1 year ago

Didn’t want crunchy bits of shallot so I grated on a microplane, added lots of lemon plus salt and parm to finish, made sure to include red pepper flakes. Also added just blanched frozen petite peas. Lemon zest would be welcome here too!

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