Penne with Ricotta and Mixed Dark Greens (coulda been just spinach)
Anybody starting to notice that I love pasta and evidently own a cookbook or two by Marcella Hazan? Here’s a super simple recipe. Whip it out when your vegetarian friends are coming over but you don’t want to fuck with tofu. I was gonna make an avocado tomato salad to go with it, but I’d already made rugelach and this pasta so the kitchen was a mess and I was somewhat chopped and diced out. It’s probably better that way cause now perhaps I’ll be motivated to make guacamole again. (Update: I wasn’t!) Every time I’ve made guac at home this summer, that little problem we discussed about my uncontrollable eating has kicked in, so my guac remains undocumented as of yet. BUT WE’RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT PASTA!
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 2 lbs fresh spinach
- 1/4 lb butter (aka 1 stick, in most cases)
- Salt
- 1 lb penne, 1/2 spinach and 1/2 regular (back to that Paglia e Fieno – straw and hay – that I love!)
- 1/2 cup fresh whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, to taste (add up to 1 cup, or just grate extra on individual servings)
—That’s it! That’s really all the ingredients in the world that you need! Maybe with the leftover ricotta I’ll make cheesecake…
Preparation
- Wash the spinach in a large basin of cold water. Let them soak to get the grit off, then give them a rinse. Dry it off in a salad spinner or toss vigorously in a colander — something that will get most of the moisture off. The recipe tells you to pull the spinach leaves from their stems, but unless they’re really gangly or gross, I just leave them on because you’re gonna be chopping this stuff up finely later. I should also mention that this go round, I used mixed dark greens (a.k.a spinach and a couple types of kale) because that’s what I had in the house.
- Cook the spinach in a covered pan over medium heat with a pinch of salt and no more water than is clinging to the leaves. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, depending on how young and fresh the spinach is. I always find that some of my spinach leaves stick to the bottom of the pan, so I might try a little olive oil in the bottom next time. Also, you’re going to cook the spinach again in a bit – so you do want to stop once it starts wilting and is wet to the touch.
- Drain well, and as soon as the spinach is cool enough to handle, press as much of its remaining liquid from it as you can, but do not squeeze too tightly.
- Chop the spinach rather fine, and set aside.
- Choose a skillet or saute pan that can contain all the spinach later without overcrowding. Put in 4 tablespoons of butter, and turn the heat on to medium high. When the butter is melted add the spinach and a liberal 3 pinches of salt. (Bear in mind that this, along with the ricotta, will be the principal component of the sauce. The ricotta has no salt, so the spinach must be adequately seasoned.) Saute the spinach for 2 minutes or so, turning it frequently, then turn off the heat.
- Cook the pasta in 4 or 5 quarts of salted boiling water until tender but al dente, firm to the bite. Drain into a pasta colander, giving several vigorous up-and-down shakes to drain the pasta thoroughly.
- Transfer the pasta to a warm serving bowl (big stainless bowl – metal helps retain the heat), adding all the spinach from the pan, the ricotta, the remaining butter, and the grated parmesan cheese. Mix thoroughly and serve at once.
Enjoy while hot! Although incidentally, it makes for tasty cold leftovers as well.
-Anna
going to feed 