Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Penne w/ Ricotta and Basil Sauce

This is a tasty low-fat pasta with ricotta cheese. I had never used ricotta cheese in a pasta other than in lasagna and I was really curious how the pasta would taste with it. It tasted really good. I liked it a lot. But I sprinkled just a little bit, about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on top of the pasta and it added a great flavor to it. (I added it after I took these photos.. so you can't see it in these photos. Sorry!) This pasta recipe calls for a little bit of bacon crumbles, but no other meat, which is why I was attracted to this recipe. In our family, we eat a lot of chicken. Sometimes, I just don't feel like eating chicken or any meat at all. A little bit of bacon crumbles were just perfect for me that night.

Penne with Ricotta and Basil Sauce
Adapted and changed from Tasty Low-fat Recipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 tablespons bacon crumbles (I used Kirkland brand bacon crumbles but you sure can cook bacon strips and crumble it)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped *optional
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
11 oz penne, cooked al dante *save about 1 cup of the pasta water
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the bacon, garlic and onion and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the heat, stir in the ricotta and chopped basil and beat until smooth. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the ricotta mixture to thin the sauce. Add more water if you prefer an even thinner sauce. Season well with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and stir the sauce through with the tomato halves. Can be garnished with small basil leaves.



32 comments:

  1. Hey Sook the Cook! Cute name. This looks like a fabulous pasta dish. Anything with cheese and fresh herbs is a winner in my book!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sook, this look soooo good! I love ricotta and, hey, anything with bacon is fantastic, right?! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like a really delicious pasta dish!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh man, that looks amazing. Gotta love bacon. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh! What a nice pasta dish, great combination of flavors...ricotta and basil...yummie!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely dish! I'd have a huge plate of that :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bookmarked! Looks fabulous. Bacon crumbles are the perfect touch!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a recipe I could love. I don't always want to eat chicken or meat either. I bet the bacon is excellent in it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would like to have something like this for dinner tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  10. wow that looks amazing & so beautiful...

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a truly comforting pasta dish! Ricotta makes the pasta to a perfection.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I could easily eat this pasta on a daily basis. Gorgeous and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Soo cheesy and truly fantastic pasta, my kids will definitely love this..

    ReplyDelete
  14. So cheesy and tempting, wud omit the bacons though... delicious:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I could live on pasta; what a wonderful combination of ingredientsè need fresh basil for this one.
    Rita

    ReplyDelete
  16. You can add bacon to anything and it improves it. Love the penne pasta.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh elicious penne w ricotta and the fantastic flavour green-basil....perfect.....and creamily elicious...love ur fab recipes sweetie....

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've never tried ricotta cheese b4, but it looks great in your pasta. light and refreshing :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love ricotta and basil, this dish is absolutely awesome, gloria

    ReplyDelete
  20. I will surely try this recipe...luks yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ricotta, bacon and pasta, yum!
    Mimi

    ReplyDelete
  22. A great pasta combination indeed!

    CCR
    =:~)

    ReplyDelete
  23. i love ricotta cheese! when I make lasagna or baked ziti, I have a few spoons of rictta with marinara sauce like a yogurt- my fam thinks its gross but its love for me... i love it

    i should try this dish!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Lovely pasta dish and well presented Sook.

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a creamy and delicious looking pasta.

    ReplyDelete
  26. basil and ricotta yummy, look very creamy!!


    sweetlife

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you so much everyone for your encouraging comments!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm always looking for a healthy pasta dish and this one looks DELICIOUS!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful and tempting pasta dish. I Love the use of fresh basil in this. So yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Pasta is my weakness and any kind of pasta will do me good.

    ReplyDelete