Cheesy Pasta (Crispy and Creamy) - C - Alphabet Challenge

 

While I like to think I’m a good cook, I have cooking disasters just like everyone else which happened this week. For my cheese dish I wanted to make pasta with cheese sauce that I haven’t before. There was a great recipe for brie pasta and since I love brie on cheeseboards I wanted to try it with pasta. It’s a creamy cheese but after I heated it in a baking dish it never melted enough to get incorporated into the pasta. So instead I used the homemade ricotta I made for the cheese toast I wanted to serve with it as the sauce. A lot of cooking is about being creative and pivoting when a dish isn’t working out as expected. 
 
Since cheese is such a versatile ingredient, I wanted to use it in more than one way. I decided to make some Parmesan crisps for texture with the creamy pasta. The crisps are a nice garnish and are incredibly easy to make. You could make extra and store them in an airtight container for a future snack or as a substitute to croutons on a salad. 
 
Ingredients: 
For the Pasta:
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 cups homemade ricotta, room temperature (link at bottom of the page, store bought is fine) 
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp. olive oil 
1 Tbsp. chives, minced
1 Tbsp. basil, minced 
1 lemon, zested 
 
For the Parmesan Crisp:
1 cup grated Parmesan
Fresh cracked black pepper 
 
Directions: 
Parmesan Crisps- 
 
1. Pre heat an oven to 425. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 
 
2. Using a small circle cookie cutter or free hand, pile about 1 Tbsp. of Parmesan in your desired shape. You want the crisp to be about 1/4 inch thick. 
 
3. Top the Parmesan disc with a touch of black pepper. Bake in the oven until the disc is brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. 
 
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the parchment.  Remove gently with an offset spatula. Set aside until ready to use. 
 
Pasta: 
1. Boil a large pot of salted water and cook pasta according to the package directions. 
 
2. While pasta cooks add the olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft for 1 minute.
 
3. Combine the ricotta, herbs, lemon zest, and salt and pepper in the pan with the garlic. Set aside until pasta is ready. 
 
4. Add cooked pasta to pan with sauce. Gently toss to combine. If the sauce gets too thick you can add a little pasta water. 
 
5. Use tongs to twirl the pasta and lay it onto the plate for a nice presentation. Top with Parmesan crisp and extra herbs. Serve and enjoy!