Fettuccini Puttanesca with Whipped Ricotta
Fettuccini Puttanesca with Whipped Ricotta is one of our favorite meatless meals. I start this fettucine puttanesca recipe by cooking fresh tomatoes into a luscious sauce. Then, I add capers, anchovies, herbs, and kalamata olives to my easy puttanesca pasta recipe. Finally, I toss the sauce with fettucine and top it with Parmesan, my homemade whipped ricotta cheese and fresh basil. We like this dish for several reasons. First of all, I like that I can make this dish in less than an hour. Secondly, I like that I can make this dish well ahead of time. Sometimes I make it the day before I want to serve it. You could even make it two days in advance. Finally, we all love the fresh tomato flavor in this dish.
THE EQUIPMENT I USED
- A Large Pot- You’ll need a big pot to boil your pasta water.
- A Dutch Oven- I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven to make my sauce. But, you can use any medium sized pot to make your sauce.
- A Food Processor- Use this to whip the ricotta.
THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR FETTUCCINI PUTTANESCA WITH WHIPPED RICOTTA
- Plum Tomatoes- Use fresh plum tomatoes. Of course, you can also use canned whole tomatoes.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- I like California Olive Ranch brand olive oil.
- Garlic- The peeled cloves of garlic are my favorite. I store them in the freezer.
- Chicken Stock-I always use my homemade chicken stock. The recipe is below.
- Olives- Use kalamata olives. Just make sure there are no pits. I found a pit in my container of pitted olives today.
- Fresh Basil- Fresh basil adds so much fresh flavor to this dish.
- Ricotta cheese- Use fresh ricotta if possible.
- Fettuccini-I really like the DeCecco egg fettuccini.
HOW I MADE MY PASTA AND SAUCE
- First, I cooked my tomatoes, just long enough to remove the skins.
- Then, I made the herbed whipped ricotta.
- Next, I cooked the sauce. Cook it on low heat so that it doesn’t burn.
- Finally, I tossed the sauce with the spaghetti and Parmesan cheese. And I topped it with the ricotta.
If you like tomato sauces, you need to try this delicious Fettuccini Puttanesca with Whipped Ricotta.
Fettuccine Puttanesca with Whipped Ricotta
Ingredients
For the Fresh Tomato Puttanesca Sauce:
- 6 plum tomatoes, with the stems cut out
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp. garlic, minced
- 1 cup onion, minced
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1 tbsp. capers, drained
- 4 anchovies, rinsed and chopped
- ¼ tsp. each dried oregano and crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp. fresh basil, sliced
To Assemble the Dish:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tbsp. fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp. each fresh thyme and parsley
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 9 ounces fettuccine
- fresh basil for garnishing
- Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Begin by making the whipped ricotta: In a food processor, process the ricotta, basil, parsley, thyme, and kosher salt until it's all combined and whipped up. Set aside.
- Next, make the sauce: In a three- quart saucepan, half filled with boiling water, simmer the tomatoes for three minutes, or until their peels loosen. Drain and peel the tomatoes and chop them in half inch pieces.
- In a Dutch oven on low heat, melt the butter and oil and cook the onion and garlic until they're soft. Add the tomatoes and the rest of the sauce ingredients, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring frequently. While the sauce simmers cook the fettucine according to the package directions. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and toss it with the drained spaghetti. Top with the fresh basil and the whipped ricotta, parmesan, and basil.
