Ricotta teamed with roasted tomatoes and onions becomes a creamy sauce for rigatoni. (John Dziekan/Chicago Tribune) |
Thick, creamy pasta sauces don't have to be laden with calories, and they don't have to take forever to make. Sometimes it is just a matter of stirring in the right ingredient. In this case, ricotta cheese. Borrowing a tip from chef and cookbook author Mario Batali, hot pasta water is blended with the ricotta to "melt" it into a creamier texture.
For this recipe, we broiled cherry tomatoes to get optimal flavor, and used their juice to help create the sauce when we mix in the cheese. Balsamic vinegar and herbs add additional notes of flavor.
Rigatoni with tomato-ricotta sauce
Prep time: 13 minutes
Cooking time: 13 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1/2 pound rigatoni
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1. Heat a pan of salted water to a boil; heat the broiler. Cook pasta according to package direction.
2. Meanwhile, place tomatoes and onion on a foil-lined, broiler-safe pan; drizzle on the oil, and add the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Broil until tomatoes have curled and softened and onions are golden, 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from broiler; set aside.
3. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup of the hot water. Stir the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the ricotta until it reaches desired creamy texture. Place pasta in large bowl; toss with tomato-onion mixture. Add ricotta and basil, stirring just to combine. Add vinegar; toss.
Nutrition information per serving:
391 calories, 30% of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 52 g carbohydrates, 16 g protein, 366 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
For this recipe, we broiled cherry tomatoes to get optimal flavor, and used their juice to help create the sauce when we mix in the cheese. Balsamic vinegar and herbs add additional notes of flavor.
Rigatoni with tomato-ricotta sauce
Prep time: 13 minutes
Cooking time: 13 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1/2 pound rigatoni
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup whole-milk or part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1. Heat a pan of salted water to a boil; heat the broiler. Cook pasta according to package direction.
2. Meanwhile, place tomatoes and onion on a foil-lined, broiler-safe pan; drizzle on the oil, and add the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Broil until tomatoes have curled and softened and onions are golden, 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from broiler; set aside.
3. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup of the hot water. Stir the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the ricotta until it reaches desired creamy texture. Place pasta in large bowl; toss with tomato-onion mixture. Add ricotta and basil, stirring just to combine. Add vinegar; toss.
Nutrition information per serving:
391 calories, 30% of calories from fat, 13 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 52 g carbohydrates, 16 g protein, 366 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
