PASTA WITH LEMON, HERBS AND RICOTTA SALATA

Pasta With Lemon, Herbs and Ricotta Salata image

Here's a light, brothy pasta with chicken stock, lemon zest, mint and ricotta salata that Amanda Hesser brought to The Times in 2001. It's easy yet elegant; perfect for a impromptu weeknight dinner party. If you can get your hands on a Meyer lemon, do so and use that, but the recipe works just as well with a standard lemon from the corner deli.

Provided by Amanda Hesser

Categories dinner, weekday, pastas, main course

Time 20m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
Grated zest of 1 lemon (Meyer, if available)
Juice of 1 lemon (Meyer, if available), plus more to taste
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 pound pappardelle, broken into 2-inch pieces, or fusilli
3 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped marjoram
1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds or tarragon
Extra-virgin olive oil, for sprinkling
6 ounces ricotta salata
Coarsely ground black pepper

Steps:

Fill a large pot with water and add enough salt so that you can taste it. Bring to a boil. Pour the chicken broth into a small saucepan, drop in the garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce by half. Remove garlic. Shut off the heat; add the lemon zest and juice. Season to taste. It should be highly seasoned because this will be the sauce for the pasta. Keep warm. Place 4 serving bowls in a low oven.
When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. After five minutes, ladle out about 1 cup of the cooking water and reserve. Drain the pasta, shake, then return it to the pot. Place over low heat and pour in the chicken broth. Sprinkle in the mint, marjoram and fennel and a little olive oil. Stir. The pasta should be brothy and lemony. Add some of the reserved cooking water, salt and more lemon juice, if needed.
Spoon into bowls so that the pasta is lying in a bit of broth. Crumble the ricotta over top, sprinkle with a dash more oil and grind pepper over the top. Serve.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 530, UnsaturatedFat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 92 grams, Fat 8 grams, Fiber 5 grams, Protein 23 grams, SaturatedFat 4 grams, Sodium 728 milligrams, Sugar 4 grams