March 28th - April 3rd
Stop reading for one minute and grab your phone or a piece of paper if you are old school, and make a grocery list. You are making Broccoli Ricotta Pasta this week, okay?
Do you remember a month or so ago when I attempted a Marco-friendly mac and cheese? Marco friendly = no cow dairy and GF noodles. I tested it with goat milk and goat cheddar but here's the thing...goat cheddar does not melt. I knew this but had to try it anyway and was left with an oily clumpy noodle dish. The entire thing was consumed but it was a fail. Back then I went through my Marco-friendly cheese options to come up with another plan and goat milk ricotta popped in my head. Well, last week I tossed some pasta in ricotta and made an amazing dish. I truly surprised myself with how creamy and delicious it was. I made it again for my Thursday recipe this week and if you missed it head to my Instagram and watch the highlight to see it go down.
You start by making ricotta sauce. Ricotta, pecorino, chili flakes, lemon zest, salt, and pepper blended together. I used a food processor but a blender will work too. If you don't have either, grate your pecorino cheese extra fine and just skip this step. It will be fine. Set your sauce aside and head to the stove. Crisp up your broccoli and garlic while your noodles cook. Throw broccoli, cooked noodles, and ricotta sauce back in a pot to thicken for a few minutes, and you are done! This was creamy and comforting like mac and cheese was as a little kid but with some grown-up flavors. Enjoy!!
Broccoli Ricotta Pasta
• 1+1/4 cup - Ricotta
• 2/3 cup - Grated parmesan or pecorino
• 1/2t - Chili flakes
• 1/2t - Black pepper
• 1 - Lemon, zested (about 1t of zest)
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1-2 - Heads of broccoli + stalks
• 4 - Garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• 12oz - Pasta
1. In a food processor, process ricotta, pecorino, chili flakes, pepper, lemon zest, and salt. Process for 1-2 minutes.
2. Cut individual broccoli florets from the stalk and set them aside. Peel your stalk and slice into thin pieces. Peel and slice 4 garlic cloves.
3. Heat a pan to medium-low and add 2T olive oil. Arrange broccoli in a single layer with as many flat cut sides as possible making contact with the pan. Cover and cook for three minutes. Remove lid, do not move broccoli, and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Broccoli should be deeply brown on one side. Flip and repeat cooking for another 5 minutes. Broccoli will cook for 10 minutes total. Add your sliced garlic 2 minutes before the broccoli is done.
4. While broccoli is cooking, boil your pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. When al dente, reserve a cup of pasta water and drain.
5. Add cooked pasta, ricotta sauce, and cooked broccoli and garlic to the same pot used for cooking the noodles. Place the pot on low, add a splash of pasta water and cook for 3-5 minutes until thick and creamy.
Season and eat right away!!!
Other things from this week:
I finally nailed an almost perfect hashbrowns crust quiche. I need to work out the perfect bake time to keep it nice and crispy but it's looking good. Recipe to come.
I tried Melissa Clark's Spicy Grilled Pork recipe because I love me some grilled pork. It was 10/10. Tossed some sliced fennel with onions, herbs, and lime juice to make a salad and served it over rice.
If you missed my Easter treats, I made meringues two ways. This was a fun two-day project and my neighbors were all grateful to receive meringues.
I caramelized two sweet onions and added those to a pizza with leftover ricotta. *Chef's kiss* but it needs bacon next time! Try it out on your next pizza night.
You guys chose Ottolinghi's Flavor cookbook for April. I went through it this week and bookmarked all my recipes. They are vegetarian and produce forward. Our farmers market starts in two weeks and I am so excited about that, perfect timing! Lots of veggies and grilled meals coming at ya.
Recipes From This Week:
Restaurants From This Week:
I celebrated a friend's birthday this week at Verbena. A new restaurant connected to The Inn at Meadowbrook. It's adorable. I felt like I was transported to a country club on a lake somewhere in the south. We shared a lobster pot pie, duck ravioli, and Ceaser salad. If I'm being nitpicky it could have used a smidge more salt but it was a great meal. I'm grateful to be vaccinated and able to celebrate birthdays again!
Thing Everybody Needs:
I use my Thermopro digital thermometer daily and love it. Can't live without it. This week it finally broke and I had to pull out my 10+ year old dial thermometer. Fast battery-operated thermometers are cool until they break. Grab one of these to have as a backup.
Animal Cuteness:
Josie and Ollie celebrated their birthdays this week! Josie attempted to eat this cupcake whole and almost choked.
Random Thing From This Week:
Did you know there are 13,000 varieties of daffodils? Look at this cool two-headed one I found in my yard.
Article to Read This Week:
Learn about Annie from Annie's Mac and Cheese.
Book I'm Cooking Through This Month:
Flavor, Ottolenghi
Recap + review 4/30
Enjoy this beautiful spring day where ever you are, happy Easter!
See you next week,
Marcella
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