Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Asparagus and Pea Pasta with Ricotta and Tarragon


I had bought a big tub of ricotta from Costco and had 1 cup left so went searching for ricotta recipes and came across this simple dish. (Stay tuned for what I had originally needed 3 cups of ricotta for!) It's yummy and super easy to prepare, so makes a great weeknight meal. I used asparagus and frozen peas (I looooove frozen peas, I can eat a big bowl of them plain) but feel free to use whatever vegetable you have on hand. I liked the tarragon but if that's not your favourite herb, try a different one.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
French Pasta Salad
Asparagus and Feta Pasta
Artichoke Rotini Pasta
Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms in Mustard Wine Sauce

Asparagus and Pea Pasta with Ricotta and Tarragon
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 4

12 ounces gemelli or other short pasta
1 bunch asparagus (about 3 cups), ends broken off, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons dried tarragon (not the crushed kind)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup ricotta cheese

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than al dente. Add asparagus and peas, and cook 1 minute (or until asparagus is bright green). Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and vegetables, and return to pot.

Toss pasta and vegetables with butter, tarragon, pepper, salt and ricotta, adding a little reserved pasta water as needed to create a thin sauce that coats pasta; season with salt and pepper as desired.

8 comments:

Joanne said...

I have a (not so) secret addiction to anything involving ricotta. To the point that if I don't use up the whole container, I'm seriously prone to eating it out of the tub. With a spoon. This pasta dish looks delicious! Love the tarragon/pea/asparagus combo. Spring at its finest!

Sandi's Pantry said...

Where did you find a Costco that has Ricotta? I am in Las Vegas and I can't find it here or in California. I have found it at Sam's though. I know Costco's will carry some things one area and not the other. Just wondering.

eatme_delicious said...

Sandi's Pantry: I'm in Vancouver, BC. Too bad your Costco doesn't carry it!

Sharlene said...

So simple but looks delicious! Great use for leftover ricotta.

Hannah said...

Lovely, springy dish! I think this might be a reason to try out the tofu ricotta recipe I have bookmarked, too... ;)

Cookie said...

I'm always in need of a good recipe to use up opened Ricotta too. Great spring recipe!

Eileen said...

oh man, that looks awesome. jealous! need to go get some ricotta, stat!

savvygreenmom said...

Wow look at that! It looks sooo cheesy! I would love to try this sometime using a pasta made from Kamut since it has so many vitamins and minerals in it and it is healthy. We want to be as healthy as we can so i think this would be the perfect pasta for it.