Recipe

Lemon Ricotta Spaghetti with Arugula

Lemon Ricotta Spaghetti with Arugula

Photo 1 of 2
by William Brinson

Lemon Ricotta Spaghetti with Arugula

Photo 2 of 2
by melissav

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe with Fresh Ricotta
  • Chef

    melissav's Notes:

    I find myself making this dish after a long, hard day after work. It is bright yet filling pasta dish that will get you out of the kitchen in the time it take you to boil the pasta.

Serves 2-3

  1. Bring a pot of well salted water to boil

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  2. While the water is coming to a boil, slice the garlic and put a small saute over low heat. Add the olive oil, the garlic, and a nice pinch of salt. Let the oil and garlic slowly heat up. You don't want the garlic to brown. You are just warming the oil and letting garlic infuse it.

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  3. While the oil and garlic are doing their thing, zest the lemon and wash and dry the arugula.

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  4. Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and reserve some pasta water if you don't have any ricotta whey.

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  5. Once the pasta is boiling, turn the heat under the saute pan to as low as it goes and add the ricotta, lemon zest, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. You just want it all to warm it up while the pasta is cooking.

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  6. Once you drain the pasta, add it to the saute pan and toss well. Add 1/4 cup of whey or cooking water and the arugula and toss again to coat and wilt the arugula. If you feel it is too dry, add up to 2 more TB of whey or cooking water. Taste for salt and add the juice from 1/2 a lemon and toss once more.

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  7. Serve, topping each bowl with a few sprinkles of coarse salt or fleur de sel and a few drops of lemon juice.

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25 Comments on Lemon Ricotta Spaghetti with Arugula

Reply

I love arugula, but sadly, the rest of my family does not. . .so I subbed in an equal amount of watercress--delicious!! Used DreamFields pasta to keep the fiber but lower the carbs, and part-skim ricotta to keep it light, and the recipe was still awesome!!!

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

How did I miss this?? I love how this looks. I'm making it this weekend for sure. Thanks for another great recipe Melissa!

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

I couldn't wait that long. I made it tonight. I didn't have any arugula on hand so I blanched some swiss chard, chopped it and added that in. Sooooo good!

Ry_400 Reply

Suzanne, so glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it. Hope you are having a nice weekend.

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

Just had leftovers, and now I realize I will need to make some more. So easy and so delicious! It's a weekend of house-hunting, so not sure it's relaxing, but it's fun. Hope you're having a nice weekend too!

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Made this last night with a few minor changes. Added the crushed red pepper with the garlic and heated both in the olive oil. I used two large pinches of red pepper for a little more zip and two large cloves of garlic. I also increased the arugula to 4 cups packed arugula. Finishing with fresh cracked pepper and coarse salt, along with a drizzle of lemon juice and a really good olive oil, is essential. Homemade ricotta is the icing on the cake (I used a different recipe for that...)! Yummy, easy, and oh, so fresh tasting!!!

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I've made this dish ten times in the last year. It is now my favorite pasta dish.

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I made this tonight and subbed gnocchi for pasta and added a couple of baby portabellas in the saute - it was delicious. I love a sauce w/ lemon, and I loved the peppery addition of the arugula. The sauce was really light and the gnocchi kind of hearty - a good combo for this cold January evening. I'll make this again!

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Absolutely delicious! A nice, light start to the new year. Thanks!

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Absolutely delicious! A nice, light start to the new year. Thanks!

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Melissav, I just made this for dinner and it was fabulous! Thank you! I've added it to my own blog, inspiredflavors.com with full credit to you. I appreciate the inspiration!

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made this tonight with a glass of white in hand. i was so tempted to add leftover cranberries, or almonds, or prosciutto, but i head back. so glad i did as this is beyond the best dinner.

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Absolutely delicious. I added Pecorino cheese for some "punch".

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I just tried this for the first time, but it won't be the last. It was the perfect thing after a tough Monday.

Yum, this looks delicious. I'll be saving it to test out sometime soon!

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Just made this for dinner. It is definitely a keeper. I used baby spinach and added more garlic. Whenever I find any arugula I will definitely try it with that, too!

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Just made this for dinner. It is definitely a keeper. I used baby spinach and added more garlic. Whenever I find any arugula I will definitely try it with that, too!

Em-i-lis_profile_pic Reply

This sounds wonderful and is very similar to one I make that also uses whole wheat pasta and lemon but mascarpone instead of ricotta, and dandelion greens instead of arugula. I'll try this version soon!

Shamrock-medal Reply

Don't know how this one slipped by me! Love it. One of my favorite ways to make a quick pasta is with lemon, garlic, pine nuts and spinach - next time I'll make your version instead.

Dscn0826 Reply

love these kinds of pastas

Steve_dunn02 Reply

Yes, I WILL make this....maybe even tonight!

Sausage2 Reply

Looks like a perfect weeknight supper! Yum.

Newliztoqueicon-2 Reply

This is my favorite kind of recipe, simple with clean flavors. A perfect mid-week supper! Thumbs up for this "keeper".

N538322836_1930755_1183 Reply

love this, one of my favorite ways to eat pasta+ ricotta, have to try it with whole wheat pasta

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Sounds wonderful.

how much arugula did you use?

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