Day Two of Meatless Meals

Whole Grain Pasta with Ricotta

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional:  I don’t always add the nuts to this recipe but they are delicious in it)

2 cloves garlic, minced (it’s really tasty with black garlic too)

1 T. olive oil (you may not need this much!!! – I usually use about half that)

1 box of whole grain pasta (about 13 oz box)

1 lb frozen green peas or corn (you can also throw in any leftover veggies you have on hand instead and of course you can use fresh peas or corn when they’re in season)

6 oz. of creamy ricotta (I use the lowest fat ricotta I can find – goat cheese works here too and a mix of ricotta and mascarpone is lovely too)

Seasonings as desired – I usually only use fresh cracked pepper

Optional:  If I have some fresh Parmesan on hand, I’ll shave a bit of that over the top of this.

Instructions:  Cook the pasta according to package directions but 1 minute before it would reach the al dente stage, add the frozen peas/corn.  If using leftover precooked vegetables, these can just be tossed in with the hot pasta at the end to warm them up.   Meanwhile, toast the nuts with the garlic in the oil.  I do this over medium heat until they deepen in colour and turn a beautiful golden shade.  You may want to season these with some salt and fresh pepper.  Drain the pasta and veggies but reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking water.  Put the pasta and veggies back in the pot and add the cheese, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the water, and any seasonings desired.  If the mixture doesn’t seem creamy and moist enough, you can always add a little more of the cooking water.  Top with the nuts and garnish with fresh herbs and some shaved Parmesan if desired.