Lemon ricotta pasta

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Lemon ricotta paired with parmesan cheese makes the perfect sauce. This recipe is creamy, tangy, and fresh! Everything you would want from a pasta dish. It’s a summer garden captured into a dish. The best part is, lemon ricotta pasta takes less than 30 minutes to make! Take a leap of faith, and try something new!

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Creamy lemon ricotta pasta with fresh basil

Lately, I have been obsessed with basil! I’ve been sneaking it into every dish I make. I love basil so much…I named my dog Basil….maybe ill come to regret that decision later, but for now, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

My garden inspired this dish. I love using fresh ingredients that are in season. Summer vegetables mixed with a creamy ricotta sauce, with hints of lemon and basil. This meal is so comforting, yet very light!

Lemon ricotta pasta has a few garden vegetables. You can definitely switch out any of the vegetables for a vegetable of your choice. Or you can make the creamy sauce with just noodles. I always say when it comes to cooking there are no rules. Cook from the heart, it will lead you! listen to your gut and play around with the ingredients. One thing I love about cooking is you can easily personalize any dish!

Why we love this recipe

Even though this recipe only takes 30 minutes to prepare, there is some serious flavor going on! my kids are picky eaters. But they love this pasta! The lemon and the basil bring freshness, while the parmesan and ricotta cheese adds creaminess to this dish.

Tools you will need

Knife

Cutting board

Pan to sauté

Pot to boil noodles

Grater

Garlic press

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/3 cup chopped eggplant
• 1 pound of deveined raw shrimp
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 4oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 8oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
• 1 pack of linguine noodles (16 oz)
• juice from 1 lemon
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup fresh basil

Let’s make lemon ricotta pasta!

Start by chopping 1 onion into small cubes, then sauté in 2 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes on medium heat till the onion is soft and translucent. Stir on occasion to prevent burning. After 5 minutes add 6 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Then place 1 pound of raw shrimp into the skillet and cook the shrimp with the garlic and onion for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes transfer the shrimp into a clean bowl.

Chop the veggies

Chop 1/3 cup of zucchini and 1/3 cup of eggplant into small bite sizes. To the same pan that you used to cook the shrimp, add 1 tablespoon of butter and sauté the vegetables on medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir the zucchini and eggplant once in a while. The vegetables should be soft with a bite in the middle. You don’t want soggy zucchini and eggplant.

While the vegetables are sauteing, cook the linguini according to the package. Don’t forget to salt the water liberally. About 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.

Then turn up the heat to medium-high and add 1 cup of cherry tomatoes. Blister the tomatoes for 2 minutes, then add back in the shrimp that you cooked earlier. Turn off the heat.

Add 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 4 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese, 8oz of whole milk ricotta cheese, and lemon juice from 1 lemon. Mix gently till the sauce is creamy.

Drain the linguini pasta then add it to the pan with the zucchini and shrimp. Also, add the zest of one lemon and chopped basil. Gently mix the pasta with the creamy sauce, then enjoy this fresh pasta dish! I hope your family loves it as much as we do.

Substitution’s

You can substitute the tomato, zucchini, and eggplant for anything that you have on hand, that’s why this recipe is so great! Or just make lemon ricotta pasta plain, with no veggies or shrimp. Maybe you can add some grilled chicken to your plate. The possibilities are definitely there.

compost the vegetable scraps

If you have a garden or chickens, do not discard those nutritious scraps. I save all my scraps in this compost bucket and feed it to my chickens as a treat! I used to collect all the cooking scraps into a bowl that was sitting on my countertop. First of all, it would stink, and second, the fruit flies would drive me crazy. I knew there had to be a better way to save scraps in the kitchen. A few months ago, I visited a friend of mine and she had this exact compost bucket in her kitchen. I immediately knew I HAD to have this!

The second I got home, I got on amazon and ordered this bucket! It comes with a black filter under the lid that prevents the fruit flies from getting in. I have been using this compost bucket for a few months now, and I love it! When I find something good, I of course want to share it with you guys! You can buy this compost bucket here

save it for later!

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As always, thank you for stopping by my farmhouse!