Saturday, July 23, 2011

Spinach Linguini with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Creamy Ricotta



This is not a Cooking Light recipe. Aren’t you amazed? I have branched out a little from my “cooking from the books mood”. This recipe is from Judith Barrett’s book Pasta Verde.

A simple little dish like this almost isn’t a recipe at all. It’s so crazy simple, dinner can be ready in 15 minutes with the help of jarred tomato sauce. But if you want to make your own who am I to stop such greatness? So I’ve included a recipe for that as well.

Spinach Linguini with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Creamy Ricotta
Printer Version, Both Recipes
The red white and green is fun to eat. I used Lucini’s Rustic Tomato and Basil Sauce, but feel free to make your own. If you want a protein in here I’d suggest slices of freshly grilled chicken breast sprinkled with salt, pepper and a little garlic and herb flavored Mrs. Dash.


1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon cream cheese or mascarpone cheese
1 package spinach linguini or fettuccine
1 tablespoon salt
1 jar tomato sauce or see recipe below
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1. Mix together the ricotta and cream cheese. Set aside.

2. Add the salt to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

3. Place the sauce in a pan and cover, cook over medium-low heat until warmed through.

4. Place pasta in individual bowls. Top with sauce, a dollop of ricotta mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
3 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
Salt for seasoning
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil leaves

1. To peel the tomatoes: Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for exactly 1 minute. Drain in a colander and allow to cool slightly.

2. With a pairing knife, cut away from stem end of the tomato and peel off the skin. The skin should slip off easily. If it does not, place the tomatoes back in boiling water for another 30 seconds.

3. Cut around the inside core with the knife, and gently squeeze the core and seeds out. Hold the tomato under cold water to flush out remaining seeds. Coarsely chop the tomatoes.

4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes. Liberally season with salt to taste.

5. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the watery liquid in the tomatoes has cooked away, about 20 minutes.

6. Turn off heat. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Add chopped basil.

Recipes adapted from Pasta Verde by Judith Barrett. Picture by Laura Flowers.


11 comments:

Mary said...

This looks delicious. I was just thinking about doing some spinach pasta noodles last night.

Unknown said...

The pasta looks great.

Monica said...

I love the idea of using the spinach noodles!

Anonymous said...

I have a case of tomatoes and have to make sauce tomorrow...i love spinach pasta so much..

VegeCooking Club said...

This reminds me that you have a slow cooker tomato sauce recipe that I have had on my list that I really must try. I almost never make my own sauce. I know, lame!

Desserts In My Kitchen said...

Laura,
This looks absolutely amazing. I just love pasta recipes. Oh, and the ricotta on top....Yummy!

Joanne said...

Now this sounds just absolutely lovely! You can't go wrong when a recipe has both ricotta and mascarpone...you just can't.

Morgan said...

yummy!! Pasta is my favorite and this recipe sounds sooo good. It looks delicious!

Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking said...

Oh now this sounds and looks so delicious! I am new to your blog and am really glad that I found it!!

Monet said...

Simple, yet packed with flavor. Thank you for sharing, my friend. I've been craving pasta all day and I'm wishing I could have had THIS for dinner. Blessings and love from Austin!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

I love the red, white, and green colors and I can already imagine the taste is fantastic! Hope you've been well, my friend.

Related Posts with Thumbnails