LEMON RICOTTA PASTA WITH VEGETABLES

Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Vegetables image

This is my "kitchen sink" pasta dish, you can use whatever veggies or cheeses you have on hand. The combo sounds a little odd but you'll be surprised of the amount of flavor you get!

Provided by Kayla Kinney

Categories Ingredients Dairy Recipes Cheese Recipes Ricotta Cheese Recipes

Time 40m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package penne pasta
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small red onion, diced
½ medium green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or more to taste
crushed red chili pepper to taste (optional)
3 cups fresh spinach, or to taste, stems removed
1 medium Roma tomato, diced
1 (15 ounce) carton ricotta cheese
1 pinch garlic powder, or to taste
1 pinch onion powder, or to taste
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
¼ cup cubed fresh mozzarella

Steps:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; saute until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and crushed red chili pepper. Add spinach and tomato towards the end of the saute process and cook until spinach has wilted.
Season ricotta cheese with more Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir seasoned ricotta cheese into the vegetable mixture with Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Heat over medium-high heat until heated all the way through, 3 to 5 minutes.
Plate and top with mozzarella.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 369.6 calories, Carbohydrate 49.1 g, Cholesterol 36.9 mg, Fat 13 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Protein 17 g, SaturatedFat 7.6 g, Sodium 417 mg, Sugar 3.7 g