Lemon Ricotta Pasta
November 2, 2021 | By Jeremy Scheck | 5 Comments
Lemon Ricotta Pasta
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
- crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed (or chopped for stronger flavor)
- 8oz dried pasta, such as pappardelle
- 8oz whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese + more to taste
- 1 lemon
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Start heating up a pot of water to boil your pasta while you work on everything else.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add your olive oil. Let it heat for a minute, then add the onion, thyme, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook until the onion becomes translucent and lightly golden, about 5-7 minutes.
- Once the water is boiling, generiously salt your pasta water, and start cooking the pasta. Set a timer to cook it al dente.
- Add the garlic to your skillet and continue to cook over medium heat, or until the garlic is fragrant. If you are using the crushed garlic for a lighter flavor, remove the cloves from the final dish - this is an Italian technique for a subtle flavor. If you want a stronger garlic flavor, you can use it chopped, but just make sure it is cooked through enough by the time the pasta is done cooking.
- Reserve about a 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining. Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the onions and garlic. Turn off the heat, and add the ricotta and pecorino romano cheese. Mix vigoriously, adding a bit of pasta water to loosen it up (to taste). The residual heat should be enough for everything to come together, but when in doubt, grate in additional pecorino romano cheese.
- Top with the zest of a whole lemon, the juice of half a lemon, and additional red pepper flakes.
Jeremy Scheck spent high school perfecting his signature cupcakes, making quiches and coffee cake by the dozen at a local bakery, and teaching cooking demonstrations at Williams-Sonoma. As a 10th grader in 2016, he began documenting his favorite recipes on a blog called The After School Bakery. In college, Jeremy learned to make 50 gallons of ice cream in the food science lab, how to prune grape vines in the teaching vineyard, the best way to milk a cow in Northern Italy, and why film photography is an art worth saving. As a sophomore in 2020, he traded blog photos for video and became a TikTok culinary sensation. Jeremy has been featured on the Today show, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC Radio, People, and Access Hollywood, among others. Jeremy is a graduate of Cornell University with a double major in Spanish and Italian, and significant coursework in food science. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Jeremy.
So so easy and delicious!
Is there anything you can use as a substitute to whole milk? I am lactose intolerant, so I can’t use milk but would sure love try this recipe!
this recipe was super easy and delicious! i never cook for myself or my boyfriend so it was a good change of pace. he loved it! definitely will make again! might add a tad less lemon as a personal preference next time but overall i loved this! 10/10
Super easy to throw together on a week night. So cozy and delish
Made this for dinner tonight, doubled everything because I could. It was DELISH and the right amount of lemon. I’ll add more fresh thyme next time.