Ruffled Pasta In Herbed Ricotta And Pine Nut Brown Butter Recipes

PENNE WITH BROWN BUTTER, ARUGULA, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper until smooth. Set aside.
• For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.
• In a high-sided skillet, whisk the butter over medium heat until melted. Simmer until foamy. Continue to cook until the butter has a nutty aroma and turns a caramel color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pasta, dressing, arugula, tomatoes, Parmesan, pine nuts, and capers. Toss until coated, adding the reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time to loosen the sauce, if needed. Transfer to a large bowl and serve.

RUFFLED PASTA WITH HERBED RICOTTA AND PINE NUT BROWN BUTTER

Steps:

• Stir together ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, herbs, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large serving bowl.
• Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander.
• While pasta is boiling, heat butter and oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Add pine nuts and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until nut and butter mixture is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add drained pasta to pine nut butter along with 1/3 cup of reserved pasta cooking water and stir to coat. Thin ricotta mixture with 1/2 cup more of reserved cooking water, then add pasta and toss to combine. Thin with some of remaining reserved cooking water if necessary. Serve immediately.

PASTA WITH HERBED RICOTTA, TOMATOES AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Blanch the rinsed spinach leaves in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until limp, about 1 minute. Drain the spinach and cool completely under cold running water. Pat dry and chop.
• Put the ricotta cheese in a large bowl and beat with a fork until smooth. Stir in the spinach, scallions, basil, tomatoes, parsley and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook the penne until tender in well-salted boiling water. Drain, toss with the ricotta mixture, garnish with the pine nuts and serve immediately.

RICOTTA AND HERB RAVIOLI WITH SAGE BUTTER AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Put the pasta flour into a food processor and add the egg and olive oil. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Tip into a bowl and bring together with your hands to form a ball of dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead until smooth (don't worry if the dough feels a bit stiff, as it will soften slightly on resting). Wrap in clingfilm and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
• In a bowl, mix the ricotta, herbs, Parmesan and some seasoning. Set aside.
• Cut the dough in half, then roll out each piece in a pasta machine, dusting with flour to stop it sticking. Use the thickest setting for the first three passes, folding the sheet into three before putting it through again, then reduce the settings as you continue until you have a very thin, almost transparent sheet of pasta measuring roughly 85x9cm (33x3 1/2in). Cut the large pasta sheet in half to get two shorter lengths. Repeat with the remaining dough, until you have four sheets of pasta in total. If you don't have a pasta machine, divide the dough into four pieces and use a rolling pin to roll them out as thinly as possible into long rectangles.
• Lay the pasta sheets on a board dusted with a little flour. Dollop 5tsp of the ricotta filling along 2 of the sheets, leaving a little gap between each. Brush a little water around the mixture, then loosely cover each piece with one of the remaining pasta strips. Working quickly, seal the sheets together by pressing around the blobs of filling, extracting any air. Cut into squares using a pasta cutter or sharp knife to make 10 ravioli. If you have time, leave them on a wire rack to dry for 30 minutes.
• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower the ravioli into the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes or until they float up to the surface.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan until foaming. Add the sage leaves and cook on both sides. Stir in the pine nuts, then season well and remove from the heat.
• Using the slotted spoon, lift the ravioli out of the pan, draining well. To serve, divide them between two plates, then spoon over the buttery sauce, sage, and pine nuts. Add a squeeze of lemon and serve immediately with extra Parmesan scattered over.

CREAMY PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND HERBS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 2 cups pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• In the same pot, make the sauce: Add ricotta, Parmesan, olive oil, pepper and a large pinch or two of salt, and stir until well combined.
• Add 1 cup pasta water to the sauce and stir until smooth. Add the pasta and herbs, and continue to stir vigorously until the noodles are well coated. Add more pasta water as needed for a smooth, soupy sauce. Taste and add more salt if needed.
• To serve, spoon the pasta into bowls and finish with more Parmesan, olive oil and pepper.