Spaghetti with creamy ricotta, lemon and spinach

Steps10

1. 1

   Step 1. Fry the garlic

   1 min

   In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and fry the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant.

2. 2

   Step 2. Cook the shallots

   5 min

   Add the finely chopped shallots and cook on a medium low heat for 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Step 3. Add the nutmeg

   3 min

   Grate over the nutmeg and cook for a further 3 minutes to let the shallots absorb the aromatic flavour.

4. 4

   Step 4. Wilt the spinach

   2 min

   Add the spinach along with 1 tablespoon of water, cover the pan with a lid and cook for a further two minutes until the spinach has wilted. Set aside to cool.

5. 5

   Step 5. Mix the ricotta base

   Combine the ricotta, lemon zest and Parmesan in a large bowl.

6. 6

   Step 6. Add the squeezed spinach

   When the spinach is cool enough to handle, remove the excess liquid by squeezing it with your hands, then add it to the bowl and combine everything together with a wooden spoon.

7. 7

   Step 7. Loosen the sauce

   Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then season it well with table salt. Take a ladle of the boiling water and add it to the ricotta and spinach mixture, stirring it in to create a loose creamy sauce. Transfer this to a large saucepan and set it on a really low heat, keeping the sauce warm.

8. 8

   Step 8. Cook the spaghetti

   1m 30s

   Carefully drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and cook for 1½ minutes (for dry pasta check packed instructions).

   Use 310 g dried spaghetti instead of fresh if needed; check the packet for dried pasta timing.
9. 9

   Step 9. Toss the pasta

   When spaghetti is cooked use tongs to lift the pasta into the sauce. Toss to mix it well. If the sauce is too thick simply loosen it with more pasta cooking water. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

10. 10

    Step 10. Serve with pangrattato

    Serve into four warm bowls, with a generous sprinkling of pangrattato on top.

    Bread crumbs