Cheesy Pasta Presto

I am forever searching for new and delicious meal ideas for Brent, the girls and I. We all get bored with the same old thing, although Brent could eat sandwiches for supper every night and be a happy man. Here is a recipe, from Rachael Ray, that is super-duper easy, delicious, different, and impressive looking. And I have to give a shout-out to my Fort Good Hope sisters Karen and Jessa, who gave me my first Rachael Ray cookbook for my 30th birthday. Thanks ladies!


Bon appetit

Cheesy Pasta Presto

• 1 lb. short cut pasta (such as penne)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or EVOO for those of you that are cool and know the lingo)
• 1 package diced pancetta
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• fresh cracked black pepper + a sprinkle of sea salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, especially for kids)
• 1 lemon (I know the lemon and the orange sounds weird, but trust in Rachael, she will not fail you)
• 1 orange
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 20 leaves fresh basil (or a big handful of spinach)
• 4 cups arugula
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan + more to top servings with if you like

Directions

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Salt the water liberally, and the pasta and cook al dente. Heads up: right before draining, remove and reserve one cup of the pasta cooking liquid.

Once the water is almost ready for the pasta, place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and pancetta and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and season with salt, pepper and red chili flakes. Zest the lemon into the pan, and then squeeze the juice into the pan. Add the chicken stock and bring it up to a bubble, then turn off the heat. Coarsely chop the basil and arugula. Drain the pasta and add it and the reserved cooking liquid to the skillet. Stir in the ricotta, parm, basil and arugula. Transfer to serving dishes and top with additional parmesan cheese if desired.

NOTES

1. If you don't have pancetta, a few slices of bacon will work as well. Bacon is a powerful flavor, so to try and keep it a healthy meal, you only need a small amount.
2. Use whole-wheat pasta if you like.
3. You could substitute half or all of the arugula for spinach. Arugula has a stronger flavour than spinach, so although delicious in this dish, they are completely interchangeable.
4. Full-fat ricotta cheese has a lot more flavour and texture than a lower-fat version, so I recommend the full-fat ricotta cheese.
5. I hate chopping garlic, so the "Slap-Chop", or another version of that product (I have a Pampered Chef version, and it is wonderful) works perfectly for this task.