Lemony Ricotta Garden Vegetable Pasta
One of the things my husband looks forward to is the annual collector car ‘Show and Shine’ in our local community. While he really does enjoy checking out the incredible cars, I think his favourite thing is the wonderful farmer’s market. And I look forward to him going because he always returns with the most amazing summer garden vegetables and fresh baking.
This year was no exception. This recipe was inspired by the incredible purple scallions, sweet tender green and yellow zucchinis, and fresh local vine ripened tomatoes.
Lemony Ricotta Garden Vegetable Pasta
Special Note: Don’t forget the red pepper flakes. It offsets wonderfully against the lemon zest and fresh sweet vegetables.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
one sweet onion, diced ( I used fresh purple scallions, sliced in this recipe)
2 lbs zucchini, sliced into 1/4” pieces (slice in half lengthwise for larger zucchini)
6 small roma tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 c loose leaf basil (or less)
1 lb bow tie pasta (or other available pasta)
8 oz (1c) ricotta
pinch of red pepper
zest of lemon (I used 2 lemons here to really get the lemony flavour)
1c grated parmesan
salt to taste
Instructions:
Chop and prep all the vegetable ingredients.
In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, lemon zest and basil.
Put a large pot of water on to boil.
In a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, cook onions and crushed garlic in olive oil until softened (5 - 8 Min)
Reduce heat if necessary to prevent burning.
Add zucchini, season with salt and red pepper, stirring occasionally until slightly softened. Remove from heat.
Cook pasta in boiling water.
Once pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer pasta to the vegetables, saving the pasta water.
Reheat the pasta with the vegetables. Once heated through, add the ricotta/lemon/basil mixture and 1/2 c of pasta water, stirring to distribute.
Cook for one minute more.
Mixture should look creamy. Add a little more pasta water if necessary.
Add 1/2 of parmesan and stir to combine.
Serve with remaining parmesan for sprinkling on individual servings.
