Pasta With Lemon, Herbs and Ricotta Salata
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1clove garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
- Grated zest of 1 lemon (Meyer, if available)
- Juice of 1 lemon (Meyer, if available), plus more to taste
- Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 1pound pappardelle, broken into 2-inch pieces, or fusilli
- 3tablespoons chopped mint
- 2tablespoons chopped marjoram
- 1tablespoon chopped fennel fronds or tarragon
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for sprinkling
- 6ounces ricotta salata
- Coarsely ground black pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
563 calories; 11 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 95 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 769 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Fill a large pot with water and add enough salt so that you can taste it. Bring to a boil. Pour the chicken broth into a small saucepan, drop in the garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce by half. Remove garlic. Shut off the heat; add the lemon zest and juice. Season to taste. It should be highly seasoned because this will be the sauce for the pasta. Keep warm. Place 4 serving bowls in a low oven.
- Step 2
When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. After five minutes, ladle out about 1 cup of the cooking water and reserve. Drain the pasta, shake, then return it to the pot. Place over low heat and pour in the chicken broth. Sprinkle in the mint, marjoram and fennel and a little olive oil. Stir. The pasta should be brothy and lemony. Add some of the reserved cooking water, salt and more lemon juice, if needed.
- Step 3
Spoon into bowls so that the pasta is lying in a bit of broth. Crumble the ricotta over top, sprinkle with a dash more oil and grind pepper over the top. Serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Bowing to the dictates of the pantry, I used fresh basil and a bit of parsley instead of marjoram, as well as adopting the suggestion of another commenter to use anise seeds in the absence of fresh fennel. For the same reason, I replaced the ricotta salata with freshly flaked parmesan, and the pappardelle with butterfly pasta. All these substitutions worked splendidly. In addition, I cooked one clove of garlic with the broth, and crushed a second (raw) clove into the hot broth for more zing.
Made this for dinner tonight, and it turned out fabulously! I did make a few adjustments though, like 1.)adding more broth 2.)adding extra chopped garlic 3.) Cutting up some of the actual fennel bulb and cooking it down in the broth/sauce. It was so lemony and yummy! 4.)I could not find riccota salata at 2 stores so I just used fresh parm this time which was a just fine sub.
Will so definitely be making this for dinner again!!!!
I prepared this dish tonight. It was delectable, light, flavorful and ultimately satisfying. (I'm not taking back the 2 lbs of pasta statement - I cooked 4 pappardelle nests at 4.6 oz and it was plenty for two). I didn't have any fresh fennel so I pulverized some fennel seed in my mortar & pestle and added it to the broth; additionally, I used mint and chives. I served it with bruschetta rubbed with garlic and fresh tomato. we drank a Pinot Grigio from Friuli. A lovely meal - great recipe.
I used tarragon and I think it overpowered all the other flavors and I wasn’t a fan. Would not recommend tarragon over fennel unless you really like tarragon.
Not pressed and dried ricotta as a commenter said. It's actually sheep whey.
The beauty of this incredible pasta is the mouth surprising, palate exciting interplay of lemon and ricotta salata. Since this was my first go at the recipe, I healed to it with these exceptions: replaced marjoram with an Italian blend, used both fennel and fresh tarragon and upped the Meyer lemon juice to 1 1/2 lemons. And one more, from midway through dinner: a light sprinkling of red pepper flakes brings a bit of brightness that seems right to me. Enjoy!!
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