This pasta with lemony ricotta, zucchini and arugula is the perfect easy dish to put together, not to mention the light and fresh flavors blend together perfectly!
Inspired by my mom’s pasta with ricotta (I will post the easy-peasy recipe one day, promise!), I added some of my favorite ingredients of all time: lemon, zucchini and arugula. They lighten the dish up and make it appropriate for those warm spring/summer nights. The flavours are delicate, so don't expect any flavours to dominate, instead they all blend together harmoniously to create a tasty dish.
The lemon zest really adds a nice kick and freshness which I love. And in the end, you can’t go wrong with a ricotta sauce in my opinion! After all, I’ve yet to find a recipe that contains ricotta that I didn’t like. I love it that much.
How to Make this Lemony Ricotta Pasta- Step by Step
Bring large pot of water to boil.
In the mean time, in a pan, saute onion in olive oil until about half way cooked, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, season with salt and pepper (photo 1)
Cook zucchini until tender- about 10-12 minutes (photo 2)
At this point, add penne to boiling water.
Add ricotta and lemon zest to the pan with zucchini, and turn heat to low (photo 3)
When pasta is al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta water.
Drain pasta and add to pan with ricotta and zucchini. Turn heat to medium and add about ¼ cup of pasta water to make the sauce creamy. You can add more if needed (photo 4)
Add salt and pepper if needed. Add parmesan cheese (photo 5) and stir until combined.
Add arugula and stir all ingredients together in the pan (photo 6), until they're mixed together well and excess liquid is absorbed.
Plate, season with additional parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Top Tips for Making this Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Arugula:
- Try to cut the zucchini slices as thin as you can (they shouldn't be too thick for this dish), and slicing them thinly will help them cook faster,
- You can also slice the zucchini with a mandolin to cut them evenly and faster
- Try to use penne rigate (penne with ridges) for this recipe. The ridges will absorb the sauce better.
- Don't skip adding the pasta water. It's imperative to create a creamy sauce.
Other Easy Pasta Recipes You Might Like:
- Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta with Creamy Burrata
- Asparagus Pasta with Peas and Pancetta
- Eggplant Pasta with Tomato and Mozzarella (Pasta alla Norma)
If you’ve tried making this Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Arugula, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Lemony Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Arugula
Ingredients
- 200 g penne pasta
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups zucchini, sliced thinly into round pieces
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- zest of one lemon
- 1 cup arugula
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring large pot of water to boil.
- In the mean time, in a pan, saute onion in olive oil until about half way cooked, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender- about 10-12 minutes.
- At this point, add penne to boiling water.
- Add ricotta and lemon zest to the pan with zucchini, and turn heat to low.
- When pasta is al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta water.
- Drain pasta and add to pan with ricotta and zucchini. Turn heat to medium and add about ¼ cup of pasta water to make the sauce creamy. You can add more if needed. Add salt and pepper if needed. Add parmesan cheese and stir until combined.
- Add arugula and stir all ingredients together in the pan, until they're mixed together well and excess liquid is absorbed.
- Plate, season with additional parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Try to cut the zucchini slices as thin as you can (they shouldn't be too thick for this dish), and slicing them thinly will help them cook faster.
- You can also slice the zucchini with a mandolin to cut them evenly and faster
- Try to use penne rigate (penne with ridges) for this recipe. The ridges will absorb the sauce better.
- Don't skip adding the pasta water. It's imperative to create a creamy sauce.
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