Lemon Ricotta Rigatoni with Peas

Ingredients

• Pasta and peas

  360 g dry rigatoni

  plain wheat pasta, dry weight; not fresh or egg pasta

• 250 g frozen green peas

  plain, weighed frozen; cook according to package

• 3000 g water

  for unsalted pasta cooking; most is drained, reserve 300 g before draining

• Lemon ricotta sauce

  250 g whole-milk ricotta

  pasteurized, plain; weigh usable cheese without visible free whey

• 40 g Parmesan

  finely grate from a hard block; all goes into sauce

• 30 g olive oil

  all retained with garlic

• 8 g garlic

  peeled and finely minced

• 50 g lemon juice

  freshly squeezed and strained

• 4 g lemon zest

  finely grated yellow peel only

• 12 g fresh basil

  leaves, torn; 8 g in pasta and 4 g to finish

• 3 g fine salt

  all in sauce; cooking water remains unsalted

• ½ g black pepper

  freshly ground, all in sauce

Directions

1. Prepare the lemon, basil and cheeses

   Wash the lemon and basil under running water and dry them. Finely grate 4 g yellow lemon zest, avoiding bitter white pith, then squeeze and strain 50 g juice. Finely grate 40 g Parmesan, mince 8 g peeled garlic and weigh 12 g basil leaves. Tear 8 g basil for mixing and keep 4 g for serving. Put 250 g usable pasteurized whole-milk ricotta in a large heatproof mixing bowl; pour off any obvious free whey before weighing. Keep dairy refrigerated until needed and use clean tools.

2. Boil the rigatoni and reserve cooking water

   Bring 3000 g water to a rolling boil in a large pot; add no salt or oil. Add 360 g dry rigatoni and stir well. Boil uncovered, stirring occasionally, for the package time until al dente, with no chalky raw center. Top up with boiling plain water if needed to keep the pasta moving. Before draining, carefully reserve 300 g hot cooking water in a heatproof jug. Drain the rigatoni without rinsing. Begin the peas, garlic and sauce while the pasta cooks so it does not sit drained and dry.

3. Cook the peas and gently warm the garlic

   Cook 250 g plain frozen peas in a separate small saucepan of boiling plain water for the package time, usually 3–5 minutes, until fully hot and tender. Follow any longer package instructions, then drain; this water is discarded. Meanwhile warm 30 g olive oil with the minced garlic in a wide skillet over low heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring until fragrant and lightly softened. Do not brown it. Remove the skillet from heat and scrape all garlic and oil into a small heatproof bowl so residual pan heat cannot scorch it.

4. Whisk the lemon ricotta sauce off the heat

   To the ricotta bowl add all 40 g grated Parmesan, 50 g lemon juice, 4 g zest, 3 g fine salt and 0.5 g black pepper. Whisk until evenly combined. Slowly whisk in 100 g of the reserved hot unsalted pasta water, adding it in two portions. Stir in all the warm garlic and olive oil. The sauce should be creamy and loose enough to coat pasta; some fine ricotta curds are normal. Keep the bowl away from a burner. Do not boil the cheese sauce or add cream, butter or extra oil.

5. Fold in the pasta, peas and basil

   Add all freshly drained hot rigatoni and cooked peas to the heatproof sauce bowl. Fold gently with a large spoon until the sauce coats the ridges. Add more reserved hot pasta water in roughly 25 g portions only as needed, using about 150–250 g total including the 100 g already in the sauce; do not automatically add the entire jug. Fold in the reserved 8 g torn basil. The sauce should cling softly, not pool like soup. If pasta has cooled while waiting, warm it with the peas and a splash of plain water before adding to the cheese bowl; avoid boiling the finished sauce.

6. Divide into four bowls and serve

   Divide all the rigatoni, peas and sauce evenly among four warm bowls, scraping the mixing bowl clean. Finish with the remaining 4 g basil, divided evenly. No extra cheese, oil, lemon wedges or other garnish is included. Serve promptly because ricotta sauce thickens as it stands. Refrigerate leftovers in small shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 32°C/90°F, at 4°C/40°F or below. Use within 3–4 days and before any earlier dairy package limit. Reheat with a little water, stirring gently, until at least 74°C/165°F throughout; the texture will be less silky.