Name: Penne With Spinach and Ricotta
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: Salt; 6 oz. fresh baby spinach; ½ medium yellow onion; 2 Tbsp. butter; 1 lb. penne; ¾ cup whole-milk ricotta; ⅓ cup heavy cream; ⅛ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg; Freshly grated black pepper; ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Penne with Spinach and Ricotta on a white plate.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Toni Brogan

When making tortelloni filled with spinach and ricotta, I sometimes ended up with leftover filling. It occurred to me that it would make a very nice pasta sauce, so I added a little cream to the mixture and it was delicious—so much so that I’ve been making it just to use as a pasta sauce. If you use packaged baby spinach, it is also very quick and simple to prepare.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta' by Giuliano Hazan. Buy the full book on Amazon. Click through for more of Giuliano Hazan’s favorite pastas →

Recipe information

Total Time
30 minutes
Yield
Serves 4

Ingredients

Salt

6 oz. fresh baby spinach

½ medium yellow onion

2 Tbsp. butter

1 lb. penne

¾ cup whole-milk ricotta

⅓ cup heavy cream

⅛ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Freshly grated black pepper

½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation

Step 1
Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.
Step 2
Put about 1 inch of water in a pot large enough to cook the spinach. Place it over high heat. When the water boils, add 1 tsp. salt and the spinach. Cook until the spinach is quite tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and squeeze out as much water as possible by pressing on the spinach with a spoon. Transfer the spinach to a cutting board and finely chop it.
Step 3
While the spinach is cooking, peel the onion and finely chop it. Put the butter in a 12-inch skillet, add the onion, and place over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until it turns a rich golden color, about 5 minutes.
Step 4
When the water for the pasta is boiling, add about 2 Tbsp. salt, add the penne, and stir well. Cook until al dente.
Step 5
When the onion is ready, add the spinach and sauté, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add the ricotta, cream, and nutmeg, and cook until the ricotta has heated through and the cream is reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and season with pepper, then remove from the heat.
Step 6
When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce and the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve at once.