Penne with a Spinach-Ricotta Sauce

Penne agli Spinaci e Ricotta
by Giuliano Hazan
from Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes
(Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2009)
Serves 4

Video Interview

When making tortelloni filled with spinach and ricotta, I sometimes ended up with leftover filling. It occurred to me that it would make a very nice pasta sauce, so I added a little cream to the spinach and ricotta mixture and it was delicious—so much so that I’ve been making it just to use as a pasta sauce. If you use packaged baby spinach, it’s also very quick and simple to prepare.—Giuliano Hazan

convert Ingredients
Salt
6 ounces fresh baby spinach
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound penne
3/4 cup whole-milk ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated whole nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

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Method
1. Fill a pot for the penne with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.

2. Put about 1 inch of water in a pot large enough to cook the spinach. Place it over high heat. When the water boils, add 1 teaspoon salt and the spinach. Cook until the spinach is quite tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and squeeze out as much water as possible by pressing on the spinach with a spoon. Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and finely chop it.

3. While the spinach is cooking, peel the onion and finely chop it. Put the butter in a 12-inch skillet, add the onion, and place over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until it turns a rich golden color, about 5 minutes.

4. When the water for the pasta is boiling, add about 2 tablespoons salt, add the penne, and stir well. Cook until al dente.

5. When the onion is ready, add the spinach and saute, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add the ricotta, cream, and nutmeg, and cook until the ricotta has heated through and the cream is reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and season with pepper, then remove from the heat.

6. When the penne is done, drain well, toss with the spinach and ricotta sauce and the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve at once.

Recipe © 2009 Giuliano Hazan. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.