For some reason, I have convinced myself that I eat pasta every other day. When in reality, we only have pasta once a week, two at most. Another problem I have created for myself is the need for different pasta shapes. I always cook only half of the package for the two of us, which is about 250 g. And it is always more than enough, and depending on the amount of sauce and toppings, there might be even a third and a fourth portion. And after using the first half, for somewhat reason I am in doubt that the other half will be enough. Go figure. It always is.
So I have many packages of different kinds of pasta. I decided to cook up some mafaldine for this recipe. It is such a fun shape. This roasted broccolini and whipped ricotta pasta with garlic breadcrumbs were perfect because of mafaldine.
I roasted some broccolini in the oven with a few lemon slices, salt, and pepper. Roasted veggies are such a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet, you can roast them, top your grain bowls, salads, breakfast savory porridge, and of course pasta. The creamy whipped ricotta goes super well with the roasted broccoli. The lemon added some nice acidity to the whole meal which somehow reminds me of spring. This roasted broccolini and whipped ricotta pasta with garlic breadcrumbs are cheesy, hearty but green enough to become your favorite early spring pasta.
I love to top pasta with breadcrumbs. My favorite is of course garlic breadcrumbs with a dash of chili flakes. It is such a great way to use up some stale bread, I know we all have some in our pantry. It almost doesn’t matter what kind of bread it is. I had some white brioche bread that I knew I couldn’t finish before it gets moldy, so I cut it up into cubes and put it in the freezer. Now I have used it up for delicious breadcrumbs and croutons to top my salad.
I am a huge fan of whipped ricotta. I am not quite sure when this craze for whipped cheeses started, but I am all here for it. The light and airy structure that it gets when mixed with some olive oil and air are magical. It makes this roasted broccolini and whipped ricotta pasta with garlic breadcrumbs truly superb. Who doesn’t love cheesy and creamy pasta?
This is actually a very easy and quick recipe to cook for a weeknight dinner. It comes together beautifully and looks wonderful. Serve it on a date night and pair it with a glass of white wine for maximum pleasure.
Roasted broccolini and whipped ricotta pasta with garlic breadcrumbs
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 250 g Mafaldine pasta
Breadcrumbs
- Handful of torn bread pieces
- 4 cloves of garlic smashed
- ⅓ tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp salt
Whipped ricotta
- 250 g ricotta
- 50 ml olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Roasted broccolini
- 250 g broccolini
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- A couple of lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C
- First bake the bread with the garlic, spices and oil for 10 minutes *
- Remove and set aside to cool
- Place the broccolini on the pan with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon slices
- Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes
- Cook your pasta and drain
- In a food processor make the breadcrumbs from the croutons
- Stop once at your desired courseness
- Wipe the processor and add the ricotta, lemon zest and olive oil
- Blitz until smooth
- Serve the pasta with the whipped ricotta, add the roasted broccolini and top with the breadcrumbs