Rigatoni with ricotta cream is a classic Sicilian dish and represents one of the first simple, genuine dishes first made by the poor and peasants of southern Italy.
A very easy to prepare, very good pasta dish due to the creaminess of the ricotta paired with the pecorino cheese, nutmeg, and pepper. It can be prepared both with cow’s milk ricotta and with sheep’s ricotta, the latter is much tastier.
Last December I went to Sicily to visit my family.
During my stay in Sicily, as you know the visits to family members and friends are not lacking, memories emerge and you want enjoy every moment with them so that when you return to the USA you can have more beautiful memories to relive.
One day, dear childhood friends reminded me of the times where we went to eat pasta and ricotta in a trattoria in Palermo. It was very good!!! I can’t ever forget the taste and aroma of fresh ricotta.
I hope this recipe of mine gives you the same feelings it gives me every time I eat rigatoni with ricotta cream.
Enjoy every single rigatoni.
Buon Appetito
Rigatoni with Ricotta Cream
Ingredients
- 400 g rigatoni 14 oz
- 350 g fresh sheep ricotta 1 ½ cups
- 100 g grated half-aged pecorino 3.5 oz
- salt
- black pepper
- nutmeg
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted boiled water.
- In the meantime, sift the ricotta,
- put it in a bowl and mix it with a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water, until creamy.
- Add a handful of grated pecorino cheese, a sprinkling of nutmeg, and the pasta al dente to this ricotta cream. mix well, so that the ricotta is evenly distributed.
- Serve sprinkling with pecorino and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper.
Notes
How the heck do you sift ricotta cheese? Do you mean crumble or break into small pieces or press through a strainer?
Hi Jeffrey,
I use a strainer.
Mille grazie. I thought that might be the case, but I wasn’t sure. You are trying to get it as smooth as possible so it melts evenly and creamy. correct? I am making this tonight.
Hi Jeffrey,
yes, you are right, you can use a fork or a whisk to help you until the ricotta becomes a cream.
I have not tried this simple yet delicious-sounding recipe. But it occurred to me that a sprinkling of crushed pistachios would give it the crunch I usually crave. Thanks for the new idea for pasta.
Hi, Louise! I haven’t tried this dish with a sprinkling of crushed pistachios, but I think it should work deliciously.