Penne And Asparagus With Ricotta Cheese Recipes

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS AND CHERRY TOMATOES (SPRING)

Steps:

• 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, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
• In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the asparagus, season with the salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until slightly soft. Add the cherry tomatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the tomatoes start to burst and the stock is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the asparagus mixture to a large serving bowl. Add the cooked pasta and 1/2 of the Parmesan. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the remaining Parmesan and chopped basil.

PENNE WITH RICOTTA AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with enough salt that the water tastes salty. Add the asparagus and cook until tender but still firm, about 4 minutes. Lift out the asparagus with tongs and transfer to an ice bath. Cut into 1/8 -inch slices, leaving tips intact.
• Bring the water back to a boil and add the penne.
• Meanwhile, rub a large serving bowl with the garlic. Add the ricotta, olive oil and 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water; blend. When the pasta is done, drain it (reserving some water) and add it to the ricotta mixture. Top with the asparagus and half the Parmesan cheese, then fold everything together. Season to taste, adding some reserved pasta water if needed. Divide among 4 shallow bowls and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

ASPARAGUS PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook ziti at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Add ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and parsley to drained pasta. Mix and set aside.
• Chop trimmed asparagus into 1/4-inch slices, separating stems and tips.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in asparagus stems; cook for another 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook, 2 to 3 minutes. Add asparagus tips and cook, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Spread 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Add 1/2 of the pasta mixture and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle 1/2 of the vegetables on top. Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Add remaining pasta in an even layer, followed by remaining vegetables. Cover with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Move to the top rack and continue to bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes more. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS, ARUGULA AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add a generous amount of salt. Add the asparagus. Cook pencil-thin asparagus for two minutes, three to four minutes if stems are medium-thick. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.
• Place the ricotta in a large pasta bowl.
• Bring the water back to a boil, and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the directions for timing on the package but checking a minute before the suggested cooking time. Stir 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water into the ricotta. Drain the pasta and toss at once with the olive oil and ricotta, the arugula, asparagus and Parmesan. Serve hot.

ONE-POT PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Combine the pasta, onions, garlic, asparagus, broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture boils, 7 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the frozen peas and continue to cook until the pasta is al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to serving bowls and top with dollops of ricotta and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Garnish with basil leaves and serve.

CAVATELLI WITH ASPARAGUS, LEMON AND FRESH RICOTTA

Steps:

• Place the woody stems from the asparagus in a food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer the pureed asparagus to a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl. Let the juices drain, 5 to 10 minutes, pressing down lightly on the puree with a wooden spoon occasionally. Reserve the juice and discard the pulp.
• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the ricotta, Parmesan and 1 tablespoon lemon juice with some salt and pepper. Add the lemon zest and set aside.
• Once the water has boiled, add the cavatelli and cook according to the package instructions until al dente.
• Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until lightly golden, about 2 minutes. Remove the garlic, then add the sliced asparagus and saute until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the cavatelli directly into the skillet with the asparagus. Add about half of the asparagus juice and allow to simmer for 1 minute. Add the remaining asparagus juice and the remaining tablespoon lemon juice and cook until the pasta is glossy, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with Pecorino-Romano, lemon zest, dollops of the whipped ricotta, basil and black pepper.

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• In a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, cook the garlic, red pepper flakes and hot pepper sauce in oil and butter for 1 minute. Add the asparagus, salt and pepper; saute until asparagus is crisp-tender, 8-10 minutes. Stir in cheese. Pour over hot pasta and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

PENNE WITH RICOTTA AND PEAS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to boil, and salt it. In a separate pot, cook peas in boiling salted water to cover, until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again and set aside.
• Cook pasta in the large pot. While it is cooking, mix ricotta, butter and half the Parmesan in a warm bowl. When pasta is almost done, remove about a cup of its cooking water, and use as much as you need to make ricotta mixture into a sauce.
• Toss pasta with ricotta mixture and peas. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper, add more cooking water if necessary, and serve, passing remaining Parmesan at the table.

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS, RICOTTA AND LEMON

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of light salted water to a boil for cooking the penne.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the parmesan, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth.
• Add the penne to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally for 4 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until the penne is al dente (Do not overcook penne) and the asparagus is tender, 4 to 5 minutes longer. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and asparagus and place in a large bowl.
• Add 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water to the ricotta mixture, whisking until smooth. Toss the pasta with the ricotta sauce.
• Pass the remaining parmesan separately.
• One serving is 11/2 cups.
• VARIATION: Penne with Spinach, Ricotta, and Lemon.
• In step 3 omit the asparagus; cook the penne for 8 to10 minutes. While the penne is cooking, cook one 10 ounce (300-gram) package of frozen spinach according to package directions. In step 4 Toss the penne with the ricotta sauce and spinach.

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS AND CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare pasta according to box directions.
• While pasta is cooking, wash asparagus, break off the woody stems and arrange on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Broil for 5-10 minutes until the asparagus is tender (to your personal taste). Once cooked, chop asparagus roughly and toss it with drained pasta in a large serving bowl.
• Melt butter in a sauce pan and add garlic, sauteing until it is turning golden and fragrant. Remove from heat.
• Whisk in wheat flour to form a roux, being careful to avoid any lumps. When it is perfectly smooth, add white wine, whisking to incorporate.
• Return saute pan to the heat, allow alcohol to evaporate (should take about 30 seconds) and immediately whisk in heavy cream.
• Continuing to whisk, add shredded Gouda and stir gently until it melts. Once melted, add remaining ingredients and bring to temp., or just until the sauce begins to bubble.
• Pour sauce over pasta and asparagus. Toss and garnish with toasted walnuts, if desired.

ASPARAGUS, CHICKEN AND PENNE PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken until firm and lightly browned; remove from pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Cook and stir garlic, asparagus, and red pepper flakes in oil until asparagus is tender. Stir in chicken, and cook for 2 minutes to blend the flavors. Season with salt and pepper.
• Toss pasta with chicken and asparagus mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

PENNE AND ASPARAGUS WITH RICOTTA CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting any oil or butter.
• Two to four minutes before the pasta is done, add the asparagus to the water (2 minutes for thin spears, 4 minutes for thick). Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water in a small bowl. Drain the pasta.
• Meanwhile, add the garlic, ricotta, and olive oil to a large serving bowl. As soon as the pasta is drained, mix in 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Immediately add the pasta and asparagus and gently toss until the pasta and asparagus are coated with the cheese mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss again. If the mixture seems too dry, add more reserved pasta water, about 1/4 cup at a time, until no longer dry. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the pasta and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes, if desired. Serve immediately.
• nutrition information
• Each (about 2-cup) serving has:
• Calories: 318
• Protein: 15g
• Carbohydrates: 60g
• Fat: 7g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 18mg
• Fiber: 9g
• Sodium: 183mg