My daughter is lactose intolerant so I have moved away from making cream sauces for pasta, which makes my son very sad because he LOVES cream sauces. I had some left over ricotta in the fridge so I thought, what the heck, lets just throw that in the pasta to get the creaminess instead of cream. Yes, I know, that’s dairy too, but for some reason, cheeses don’t bother her like cream and milk do. Let me tell you, no one missed the cream. The ricotta was so good and creamy. What a great weekday meal!
Ingredients:
1 lb penne pasta
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz pancetta, diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup grated Romano Pecorino cheese
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
Salt
Preparation:
Boil a large pot of water and salt generously. Once boiling, add penne and cook for 11 minutes for al dente.
In a large pan, heat olive oil, then sauté onions until translucent, about 3 minutes, then add garlic and sauté for another 2 minute. Add in pancetta and cook for 10 minutes until the fat has rendered. Then add in white wine and deglaze pan. Then add peas and cook until warmed through. Add in cooked penne, ricotta, basil and about 1/2 cup of pasta liquid. Mix to incorporate all the ingredients, then sprinkle grated romano on top.
