Fresh ricotta, proscuitto and pea pappardelle

This light and intensely flavourful pasta is a great light springtime lunch or supper. We loved it so much I made a second batch the next day! It totally pays to take the time to make your own ricotta. It's totally easy and so much more delicate in taste and texture than the rubbery stuff you buy in the store. Trust me.

• 2 litres whole milk
• 500 ml buttermilk
• pappardelle pasta (enough for 4 servings - about half a large packet)
• 300 grams prosciutto
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
• 400 grams (about 1 + 3/4 cup) fresh green peas
• 2 cups roughly chopped watercress
• 1/3 cup coarse grated parmegiano reggiano
• salt, pepper

Combine milk and buttermilk in a large, heavy bottomed steel pot. Set over medium heat - no higher than 5. Allow to come to heat to about 100F. When it starts getting hot, watch it closely. It should look like it's rising, foaming and curdling a bit. Use a table knife to separate the foamy, curdly top. If you can see a watery yellowish fluid below and nice white curds at the top, you're done - depending on how fast your stove is and how cold your milk was, this could take from 10 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and use a large spoon to lade the curds into either a ricotta basket or a fine sieve. Allow this to drain and cool for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta in plenty of salted water.

Chop the prosciutto roughly and fry over medium high heat in a large frying pan. When it becomes crispy and very fragrant, add the peas. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes, until the peas are bright green and cooked. Turn off the heat and add the oil, lemon juice and watercress.

Drain the pasta.

Add the ricotta to the frying pan and toss the drained pasta in too. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss with tongs and serve with Parmesan on top.

Comments

[leonine19]

miam miam!

[Katerina]

This looks so good, and really I do keep meaning to make my own ricotta. I am running out of excuses!

[Christine]

I love every ingredient in this dish! Even the pasta you used, I like think pastas and those kinds that "carry" the sauce with every bite. This looks so good!

[DannoRecommends]

This dish looks really good.