Creamy Spinach & Cheese Pasta

I don't know whether to describe this as an inside out ravioli or vegetarian carbonara! That's exactly what it is though. I'm in my kitchen the other day hungry, desperately needing to get groceries, yet not wanting to leave the house and run errands. You know when you keep opening the refrigerator door in search of something to eat, even though you know what's in there, you keep checking as if something new will magically appear? Haha, well... it did feel like something magically popped up that last time! While I was noticing all the great cheeses I had, along with eggs and spinach, I thought about a yummy ravioli or pasta filling. I was not in the mood to start rolling out pasta dough to stuff, and that's when I was curious about making the filling be the "sauce" for my pasta. As I began and about to crack some eggs into a mixing bowl, I realized it was feeling like the start of a carbonara sauce. That's when I grabbed the cream in the refrigerator and some extra ground pepper. So in the end, my finished "sauce" was the result of marrying two of my favorites together: a carbonara sauce with a cheese and spinach pasta filling. I was pretty excited about this and how delicious it turned out. I may have consumed the entire pound of pasta in those next 24 hours (ok...I did). I didn't mention this only took about 25 minutes! This is crazy easy, fast, and also packed with ingredients and flavors everyone loves!


If you have leftovers and go back to heat up, just add a little milk to get the sauce creamy again.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound farfalle

  • 4 egg yolks

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta

  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

  • about 1 cup sautéed spinach (about 2 big handfuls uncooked)

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 1-2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

  1. Start boiling water for the pasta.

  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil on a small pan on medium. Add spinach and cook until wilted, just a minute or two. Remove from heat, strain into a colander to remove the water it will produce. Squeeze it out a few times with your hand. Transfer to a cutting board, chop up, set aside.

  3. Now, in a large mixing bowl add your egg yolks and mix to break them up. Then, add the cream, ricotta, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Whisk well until combined and smooth, set aside.

  4. Once you've dropped your pasta in and it is al dente, strain pasta then add to the large mixing bowl with the cheese/cream mixture.

  5. Toss well then add the sautéed spinach. Toss again to combine everything, serve immediately. You can top with extra grated cheese and cracked black pepper.


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PastaDanielle SimoneComment