Orecchiette Pasta with Ricotta, Lemon and Arugula (rocket).

Amazing Orecchiette pasta, soft in the middle and somewhat chewier on the outside, tossed through creamy ricotta cheese sauce infused with lemon flavour, and peppery arugula leaves. Absolutely killing combo!

Orecchiette, literally translates to “little ears” in Italian, is a pasta typical of Puglia, a region of Southern Italy. It’s a very underrated type of pasta. Recently I’ve tried orecchiette in a little Italian resto and absolutely in love now! The little ears catch so much sauce!
So many Italian pasta recipes usually look so minimalistic. But as we know minimalism is one the most complicated thing in the world. Authentic Italian food usually prepared with the best quality ingredients with much attention to detail. When preparing recipes with orecchiette make sure you cook this type of pasta properly, usually, it takes a little bit more time. The quality of pasta is another key.

Orecchiette Pasta with Ricotta, Lemon and Arugula (rocket).

Recipe by Leno RegushCourse: Dinner, LunchCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Amazing Orecchiette pasta, soft in the middle and somewhat chewier on the outside, tossed through creamy ricotta cheese sauce infused with lemon flavour, and peppery arugula leaves. Absolutely killing combo!

Ingredients

• 200g Orecchiette pasta

• Bunch of arugula (rocket), hard stems removed, washed and drained

• Shaved Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to serve

• For ricotta lemon sauce:

• 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• lemon juice

• salt

• black pepper

Directions

• Bring a big pan with water to the boil. Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Pasta must be cooked al-dente. Save 1 cup of pasta water and set aside.
• Mix together all ingredients for the ricotta sauce. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Combine drained pasta, ricotta and a half of reserved hot pasta water. Add the tender rocket leaves. Mix the pasta gently. Add more pasta water until your reach preferred consistency of ricotta sauce. I preffer to add more pasta water, usually Orecchiette pasta absorbs sauce quite quickly.
• Divide pasta between bowls, top with grated cheese and serve immediately. Enjoy!