Lemon ricotta pasta with spinach
A no-cook sauce of ricotta, lemon and parmesan turns creamy the moment hot pasta and wilted spinach hit the bowl.
- 25 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.35 a serving
- 490 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 12 oz gluten-free pasta, any shape; regular pasta works too
- 4 cups baby spinach
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt, plus ½ tsp
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 490 calories, 17 g protein, 73 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.35 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No ricotta cheese? Cottage cheese works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, cover and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
In a big serving bowl, stir the ricotta, lemon , 1 tablespoon lemon juice, parmesan, garlic, pepper and ½ teaspoon salt until smooth.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Cook the pasta until , tasting 2 minutes before the package time.
Al dente. Al dente is Italian for “to the tooth”: pasta cooked until tender but with a slight firm bite in the center. It holds up in sauce and keeps softening a little after you drain it.
How you’ll know: Bite a piece a minute before the package time: tender, with a slight firm bite in the middle and no crunch.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Gluten-free pasta goes soft quickly, so start tasting early.Drop the spinach into the pot for the last 30 seconds, just until it .
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
High heatTimer: 30 sec
Scoop out 1 cup of , then the pasta and spinach together.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
½ cup of the hot into the ricotta, then add the pasta and spinach and until everything is creamy.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: The hot water melts the ricotta into a sauce. Add a little more if it looks thick or grainy.Taste, add more lemon or salt if it needs it, and serve with a of olive oil and pepper flakes if you like.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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