Do you ever find yourself struggling to get everything fit into your day? Work, school, friends, sports, social media… the privilege of having all the opportunities we have comes with the price of having less to almost no time. While I, for my part, have been working on slowing down and concentrating on the important things in life, I still do know those days, when time just keeps slipping through your fingers and all you can spare for cooking is a mere 15 minutes. This fresh, spring Pasta dish is perfect for days like these! It’s whipped up in no time. It’s easy-peasy, with no long simmering times involved. And it’s faster and, surely, better than any take-away could be! So no excuses! Go, get yourself into the kitchen and throw together this lovely weeknight dinner.
Have you noticed the fresh, lovely greens popping up everywhere around you? Spring surely is one of the best seasons and I can’t seem to get enough of it. And, I’d rather spend my time soaking up the soft rays of sunlight than spending hours in the kitchen to prep these days. For this easy pasta dish you only need to prep your veggies and the fresh, almost raw sauce and you’re done with your work for the day. You might even be faster than the time it needs to get the water boiling and your pasta cooked al dente.
The ingredients are pretty straight forward: peas (fresh or frozen if you can’t find fresh ones), zucchini, fresh spinach, a bit of mint, lemon and ricotta cheese. All of these thrown together with some good-quality pasta and you’ve got the perfect dinner or lunch. You can even eat the leftovers like a salad the next day. Just add some more olive oil if it has become too dry overnight, but I honestly doubt that.
As always, you find the Englisch & German recipe version below. And if you find the time I’d love to read from you in my comments! Let me know how you liked the pasta or even tag me @themellowkitchn #themellowkitchn on IG. It would make my day! xx
Ricotta & Pea Spring Pasta
Spring comes with a lot of fresh vibes & lots of greens! If you’re like me, craving some fresh spring style pasta, that can be thrown together in less than 15 minutes, this recipe is perfect for you. Take the time you would usually spend on making dinner to recharge and soak up all those...
- Prep Time: 5m
- Cook Time: 10m
- Total Time: 15m
- Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound good-quality dry pasta (ie. Fussilli), about 9 cups
- 2 small zucchinis, about 600g or 4 cups sliced
- 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach or about 2 big handful
- 1 1/3 cups peas, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 organic, unwaxed lemon, zest & juice
- 1 small hand fresh mint
- kosher salt & fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Fill a medium-tall pot with water, cover with a lid and bring to a boil.
- Wash and slice the zucchinis into 3-5mm thick half-moons. Wash spinach and set aside. Wash mint and cut into thin stripes.
- In a small bowl combine 3 tablespoons olive oil with the ricotta, half of the mint, half of the lemon zest, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a good helping of fresh black pepper. Set aside.
- When the water is boiling add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and add the pasta to the pot. Give it a good stir and make sure your stove is on full power to get the water boiling again as soon as possible. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, place a big pan over high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, the peas 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, the remaining mint and lemon zest. After 3-4 minutes add the sliced zucchini and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the zucchinis start browning.
- Check the pasta is al dente (which means having a little bit of bite left), at least 1 minute before it's approximate cooking time mentioned on the package. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain pasta in a sieve. Give it a good shake. Add pasta to your pan (or if this is too small, add pasta back into the empty pot and pour peas and zucchinis over it). Add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to the ricotta and give it a good stir. Add sauce to the pasta and stir through. Season to your liking with salt and pepper and add some more cooking liquid if it looks too dry. Add the fresh spinach and toss through. Serve immediately.
Ricotta & Erbsen Frühlings Pasta
Der Frühling kommt in voller Frische & mit jeder Menge grünem Gemüse! Falls es dir wie mir geht und du dich sehnst nach frischer Frühlingspasta, die du in nicht mal 15 Minuten zaubern kannst, dann ist dieses Rezept perfekt für dich. Nimm dir die Zeit, die du sonst in der Küche stehen würdest um dich...
- Prep Time: 5m
- Cook Time: 10m
- Total Time: 15m
- Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 500 grams trockene Pasta, z.B. Fussilli
- 2 kleine Zucchinis, ca. 600g
- 2 große handvoll frischer Babyspinat, ca. 85g
- 200 grams frische oder TK Erbsen
- 250 grams Ricotta
- 5 EL Olivenöl
- 1 Bio-Zitrone, ungewachst, Zeste & Saft
- 1 kleine handvoll frische Minze
- grobes Salz & frisch gemahlener schwarzer Pfeffer
Instructions
- Befülle einen mittelgroßen, hohen Topf mit Wasser, gib einen Deckel darauf und bring das Wasser zum kochen.
- Wasche und schneide die Zucchinis in 3-5mm dicke Halbmonde. Wasche den Spinat und stell ihn zum abtropfen beiseite. Wasche die Minze und schneide sie in dünne Streifen.
- Mische in einer kleinen Schüssel 3 EL Olivenöl mit dem Ricotta, der Hälfte der Minze und der Zitronenzeste, 1 TL grobem Salz, sowie einer guten Portion frisch gemahlenem Pfeffer. Stell dies beiseite.
- Wenn das Wasser kocht, füge 1 EL Salz hinzu und gib dann die Pasta hinzu. Rühr einmal gut um und bring das Wasser schnell wieder zum kochen. Lass die Pasta je nach Packungsangabe ohne Deckel al dente kochen.
- Während die Pasta kocht, nimm eine große Pfanne und füge bei voller Hitze 1 EL Olivenöl sowie die Erbsen, 1 TL Salz, die restliche Minze und Zitronenzeste hinzu. Nach ca. 3-4 Minuten füge die Zucchinis hinzu und lass diese für weitere 3-4 Minuten anbraten bis sie etwas Farbe annehmen.
- Teste die Pasta mindestens 1 Minute vor Packungsangabe ob sie al dente ist, also noch etwas Biss hat. Gieß die Pasta in einem Sieb ab wenn sie al dente ist, aber behalte dir 250ml des Kochwassers in einem Messbecher. Füge die Pasta in die Pfanne hinzu (oder, falls deine Pfanne zu klein ist, gib sie zurück in den leeren Topf und füge die Erbsen/Zucchini Mischung zu den Nudeln hinzu). Gib 125ml des Kochwassers zum Ricotta hinzu und rühr dies kurz durch bevor du es zur Pasta gibst. Schmecke die Pasta mit Salz und Pfeffer ab und gib noch etwas Kochwasser hinzu falls sie dir zu trocken erscheint. Zuletzt füge den Spinat hinzu und heb ihn unter die Pasta. Servier die Pasta sofort!
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