Pasta with Ricotta and Cherry Tomatoes
Pasta with Ricotta and Cherry Tomatoes
I saw this being made by David Rocco on the “Cooking Channel.” Because he does not offer up measurements on his show I had to guess and improvise a bit. His sauce literally was just ricotta cheese and cherry tomatoes. I added some arugula and some Italian sausage to liven up the recipe. I think some kind of bitter green like arugula or broccoli rabe (broccoli di rape in Italian) is necessary to balance out the sweetness in the tomatoes and the cheese. The addition of sausage is optional
• ½ pound dry pasta like orecchiette, farfalle, or fusilli
• 15 ounces of ricotta cheese
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 bunch of arugula, broccoli rabe, or some other bitter green chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
• 1 sweet Italian sausage, grilled or thoroughly cooked in some other manner, cut into bite sized pieces (optional)
• 1 garlic clove thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
This recipe moves very quickly so you want to make sure everything is ready before you get started.
Bring one large pot of water, with kosher salt added, to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.
In a large sauté pan heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sliced garlic and sauté flavoring the oil with the garlic. After about two minutes remove the garlic slices from the pan. Add the sliced cherry tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium. Allow the tomatoes to cook until the skins start to look a bit wilted. Add the ricotta cheese and stir the mixture to spread the cheese in the pan evenly. Add about two ladles of water from the pasta and continue to simmer the sauce.
When the pasta is done drain in a colander and set aside. Add the arugula and the sausage to the pan allowing the arugula to wilt and the sausage to heat through, about two or three minutes. Add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to coat evenly, and allow to cook for an additional minute or two.
The pasta is ready to plate. You could add some grated cheese if you like. This makes two large entrée portions or about four primi piatti.