pea, mint & ricotta agnolotti

When it comes to simple dinners I almost always turn to pasta. With an arsenal of no cook pasta sauce recipes up my sleeve the simple task of boiling a little water manages to result in a delicious, satisfying and absolutely no fuss supper which is a complete life saver after spending a long day nursing a cranky and upset teething bubby back to health and happiness.

Today’s simple pasta supper is one of my favourite (and now Grace’s) flavour combinations; ricotta, mint and lemon. I adore this creamy combination, the lemon and mint manage so wonderfully to lighten the creamy and luscious ricotta with a zesty herb freshness that only fresh mint and lemon can do. I love this ricotta mixture so much so there have been many occasions where I specifically toast thick slices of sourdough just to adorn it with a thick layer of the lovely creamy ricotta mixture.

That said, this lovely little supper of pasta pillows smothered in creamy ricotta is sent to heavenly heights of deliciousness with the addition of super sweet baby peas and golden crispy roasted bacon. The pieces of bacon strewn throughout the pasta add a gorgeous savoury salty component that contrasts beautifully against the creamy sauce and the bright green baby peas offer a little light sweet freshness to the dish that somehow brings out the fresh zestyness of the lemon and fresh mint even more so.

After a long day of teething, fevers and general crankiness I was really surprised at how much Grace adored this pasta supper. Sitting in her high chair she happily gobbled up the pasta paying extra special attention to her favourite little friends, peas. Super cute.

To create your own easy peasy pasta supper simply…

To begin chop up a couple rashers of bacon into little pieces and place on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Pop into a preheated 180 degree celsius oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until cooked and a little golden.

Meanwhile bring a big pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Add the peas for the final 3 minutes of cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the ricotta, lemon zest and juice and grated pecorino.

To assemble place the cooked pasta and peas into a large bowl along with the bacon, ricotta mixture and a big handful of roughly torn mint leaves. Stir gently to combine.

To serve, sprinkle with an extra grating of pecorino and a few extra mint leaves.

Pea, mint & ricotta agnolotti

serves 4

INGREDIENTS

500 grams of spinach & ricotta agnolotti

200 grams peas, frozen or fresh

2 rashers of bacon, chopped

1 cup fresh ricotta

1/3 cup pecorino or parmesan, grated plus extra to serve

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup mint leaves, roughly torn plus extra to serve

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Place bacon on an oven tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes or until golden and cooked.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook pasta according to packet instructions. Add peas for the final 3 minutes of cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl place the ricotta, pecorino, zest and lemon juice and mix to combine.

To assemble place the pasta and peas in a large bowl (or saucepan used to cook pasta in). Add the cooked bacon, ricotta mixture and mint leaves and gently stir to combine.

To serve, sprinkle with a little extra grated pecorino and a scattering of fresh mint leaves.

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