Here's a kind of mac and cheese without any effort. Adding goat cheese gives American ricotta the tang it has when it comes from sheep's milk. I learned this trick from Sicilian cooking teacher Anna Tasca Lanza.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and pour in the pasta. Stir. Set your serving bowl on top of the pot to warm it.
Step 2
While the pasta cooks, whip the ricotta and goat cheese together with a fork.
Step 3
Once the pasta is cooked al dente, ladle out about a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Stir in the butter and the cheeses and season with pepper. Stir in enough of the pasta water — a little at a time — to make a smooth sauce.
Step 4
Scrape the pasta into the serving bowl and serve immediately. Pass the grated cheese at the table.
Variation
Step 5
Wash about 1/2 pound of greens, something like dandelion or curly endive or Swiss chard, and cut into ribbons. Sauté the greens in a combination of olive oil and butter, about 1 tablespoon of each, until tender. Season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper if you'd like, and add to the pasta when you add the cheeses.
Step 6
Easier still is to tear 1/2 pound of arugula or dandelion greens into small pieces and boil them along with the pasta.
