When ricotta is not the star in calzone or the ever decadent cannoli rolls. It’s busy cooling fires in this mildly spicy sauce. I would have wanted to call this recipe pasta alla pecorara. But i would then need to apologise to my die hard “stick to the original recipe” Italian readers. Why?
Because that would mean that this recipe has taken a slight. No, wait – more than a slight detour from the pasta alla pecorara dish that we all know and love. But for this recipe, we blend only 3 ingredients without any veggies invited. So how about you sit back and give this a chance?
"When ricotta isn't the star in calzone or the ever decadent cannoli rolls. Itโs busy cooling fires in this mildly spicy sauce." Share on X
For full disclosure let it be known that I did not come up with this recipe. Nonno Enzo introduced it to us on one of the seemingly ever-prevalent chilly evenings.
Oh and about the ricotta, depending on where you get it from the texture will be different. Some are more on the firm side which I do not prefer for pasta sauces. If you ever find that this is the case with one you bought and you couldn’t care less about taking it back. Then what you need to do is, chuck it in the blender with 1/4 of the tomato sauce you will use and blend. After you have heated up the tomato sauce with some oil and it is to the right thickness proceed to add in the ricotta blend.
The ricotta I used for this recipe was quite soft and creamy which is why no extra fuss was needed.
Storage:
Not recommended
Other Spicy Pasta Recipes to Heat You Upโฆ.
Penne with a spicy tomato and ricotta sauce
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Loading...When ricotta is not the star in calzone or the ever decadent cannoli rolls. It's busy cooling fires in this spicy tomato and ricotta sauce
Ingredients
- 180g Penne
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 red bird's eye chili (finely chopped)
- 380g Pureed canned plum tomato (without seeds)
- 100g Ricotta
- Salt to taste
- 60g Grated pecorino romano cheese
- Olive oil
Instructions
Bring 1 liter of water to the boil and toss in the pasta plus 1 tsp of salt
Prepare the sauce while the pasta boils: Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add in the garlic to infuse for 30 seconds - if it starts to brown before that take it out!
Fry the chili in the garlic oil for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until they start to shrivel. Do not wait for the chili to start browning.
Take the pan off the fire and gently pour in the tomato puree, be careful as it will bubble quite a bit on the first contact. Stir to combine then put it back on the stove, cover and reduce for 5 minutes over high heat
Stir occasionally to avoid it sticking
Add in the ricotta after 5 minutes and stir through, leaving no mounds of ricotta. Leave to heat up for 1 minute before taking it off the fire. Add salt and taste before sprinkling in the pecorino- stir until there are no lumps.
The pasta should be ready by now so drain it and mix with the sauce
Notes
You can alternatively begin to boil the pasta 5 minutes after you have started preparing the sauce.
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