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Creamy Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Arugula
Ash Tyrrell

Creamy Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Arugula

I made this pasta on a night when I wanted something that felt fancy but took almost no effort, and it's been on repeat ever since. I love how the ricotta turns silky the second it hits warm pasta water, and the lemon wakes everything up without any heavy cream in sight
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Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound short pasta such as penne rigatoni, or fusilli – ridged shapes hold onto the creamy sauce far better than smooth or tiny cuts like orzo
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese – full-fat ricotta is what makes this sauce taste rich so skip the low-fat version if you can
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated – grating it yourself instead of using the pre-shredded bagged kind helps it melt smoothly into the sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest – use the zest before you juice the lemon since it's much easier to grate a whole fruit
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice from about 1 to 2 lemons – bottled juice tastes flat here, so fresh is worth the extra minute
  • 2 cups fresh arugula – fresh arugula wilts gently in the heat of the pasta; frozen greens turn watery and won't give you the same peppery crunch
  • Salt and black pepper to taste – season in layers, a little in the pasta water and a little more in the sauce
  • Olive oil for drizzling on top before serving
  • Red chili flakes for serving, if you like a little heat
  • Fresh basil torn or sliced, for serving, optional

Method
 

  1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook your pasta until it's just al dente. Before draining, scoop out about a cup of that starchy cooking water and set it aside. That water is the secret to a silky sauce later on.
  2. In the same warm pot, add the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Whisk it all together until it looks smooth and creamy. The residual heat from the pot helps everything blend without turning grainy.
  3. Slowly whisk in about half of your reserved pasta water, a splash at a time, until the sauce turns glossy and pourable. Go slowly here, since it's easier to add more water than to fix a sauce that's too thin.
  4. Add your drained pasta back into the pot and toss everything together so each piece gets coated. If the sauce looks too thick, stir in a little more of the reserved pasta water until it moves easily around the noodles.
  5. Add the arugula directly into the warm pot and stir gently until the leaves wilt slightly from the heat. This only takes a few seconds, so don't overmix or the greens will lose their fresh, peppery bite.
  6. Plate the pasta immediately while it's still warm and glossy, since the sauce thickens quickly as it sits. Top with extra parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil, and any garnishes you like before bringing it to the table.

Notes

  • I always save more pasta water than I think I'll need, since it's much easier to loosen the sauce than to thin it out later
  • I grate my parmesan fresh every time, because the bagged pre-shredded kind just doesn't melt as smoothly into the sauce
  • I've learned to add the arugula at the very last second, so it stays vibrant instead of turning mushy
  • If my sauce feels a little thin, I let it sit off the heat for a minute or two, since it firms up quickly on its own
  • I like tasting the sauce before adding the pasta, so I can adjust the lemon or salt while it's still easy to fix