Brown Buttered Pasta over Whipped Ricotta with Lemony Walnuts (grown-up buttered noodles)

A unique and beautiful dish that works really well alongside grilled or roasted meat and a simple green salad, this Brown Buttered Pasta over Whipped Ricotta with Lemony Walnuts (grown-up buttered noodles) is kind of a showstopper. Since the pasta is served on top of the whipped cheeses, instead of mixed together with them, everyone gets to choose how much they want when they dish it up. That’s the best part! Dragging the buttery, deeply flavorful pasta through those creamy cheeses is EXCITING. It’s nice to be able to choose sometimes, you know? This is a really great one guys. Can’t wait for you to dig in.

Brown Buttered Pasta over Whipped Ricotta with Lemony Walnuts

This recipe is simple but has three components that, when served in a layered sort of way, combine in a flavorful, texturally satisfying dish that is just special. I can’t really choose my favorite part of it, because they all need to be there, you know? But I’ll break the recipe down for you here quickly, so you get a feel for what this pasta is all about.

Recipe Breakdown

1. The Pasta. This pasta is cooked in stock and lots of fresh lemon juice. AHH! Doesn’t that sound amazing?! It’s a little splurgy, I know. But it creates a noodle that is so tasty on it’s own, it doesn’t actually need some big sauce situation. We’ll toss it in that reserved liquid, re-using it as a sauce to gloss the noodles. When combined with some gorgeous browned butter, it’s tough not to fall head over heels for them.
2. The Whipped Ricotta. The coolest thing about this pasta recipe is the fact that, instead of stirring the noodles together with the cheesy sauce component, we’re piling them up on top instead. So, when you serve yourself, you can drag those noods through as little or as much of the cheesy mixture as you like. A custom pasta situation, if you will.
3. The Lemony Walnut Topping. This is just DELICIOUS. I’m obsessed with walnuts so that’s great right there. But something really spellbinding happens when you toast them up in some browned butter and then introduce fresh lemon and garlic into the mix. Really great. Also nice on top of salads and all manner of soups and stews.

What you’ll need to make this Brown Buttered Pasta

You can use either chicken stock or vegetable stock here, and if you don’t like goat cheese, just use mascarpone or cream cheese instead. All good either way!

Grown-Up Buttered Noodles INGREDIENTS

• 15-ounces ricotta cheese
• 4 ounces goat cheese or mascarpone cheese (depending on your preference)
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound short cut pasta, such as rotini
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 large lemons
• Salt and pepper, as needed
• 5 tablespoons butter 
• 1 heaping cup roughly chopped walnut halves
• 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

How to make this Brown Buttered Pasta with Lemony Walnuts (Grown-up Buttered Noodles)

This is a three-part show today. First we’ll whip together some creamy ricotta cheese with either A) some goat cheese or B) some mascarpone cheese (read this is you’re unfamiliar with this creamy ingredient). If you love goat cheese and want that lovely tang, use that. If you don’t care so much for goat cheese, them mascarpone or even cream cheese are really lovely options. It just helps lift the subtly sweet flavor of the ricotta and it gives more body to that aspect of this dish. But just use whatever you like.

Secondly, we’re making pasta in an interesting way today. We’re going to boil it in some chicken (or veggie) stock with lots of lemon juice and salt. The pasta will taste so nice after it’s cooked, that you don’t need to dump some big, bold sauce on it. Just a simple coating of the brown buttered stock will do the trick. The flavors in this are all pretty subtle, but when all is said and done – really magical.

Thirdly, the topping. The topping!! The walnuts get all toasty in the browned butter and then we’ll mix them together with lots of fresh lemon zest and some spicy, fresh garlic. The initial heat from the toasted walnuts will activate the lemon zest and garlic, creating a truly delicious and crunchy topping for our pasta.

Grown-Up Buttered Noodles DIRECTIONS

Combine the ricotta and goat cheese (or mascarpone) in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the chives and parsley and season with salt and lots of black pepper to taste.  Pulse just until mixed in and spread all over a large platter. 

Pour the chicken stock into a large, deep-sided skillet pot and add the juice of 1 lemon. Season with a little salt. Bring to a boil, add the pasta, and if you need to, supplement with enough water to ensure the pasta is fully covered while it cooks (this is a shallow boil, to ensure the liquid is very starchy). Boil until al dente, per the package directions. When it’s finished, reserve 1 cup of the starchy liquid and set it aside. Drain the pasta, and return the pan to the stove.

Add the butter to the pan and when it’s melted, add the walnuts. Cook until the walnuts are nice and toasty and the butter has just browned; about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and transfer the walnuts to a bowl. Add the zest of 1 lemon and the grated garlic and season with salt to taste.

Add the olive oil to the browned butter, along with the reserved starchy cooking liquid. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and let it reduce for 5 minutes. Add the pasta back into the pot and toss to coat in the buttery broth. It will end up being “brothy” not “saucy,” which is what we want. Taste and season to your liking.

Transfer the pasta to the platter, just piling it on top of the whipped cheeses. Sprinkle with the lemony, garlicky walnuts and serve. 

If you like the looks of these Grown-Up Buttered Noodles, you might also want to consider:

Brothy Pasta with Peas and Brown Buttered Pretzels

Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage

Pantry Pasta

Cheesy Chicken With Balsamic Tomato Sauce and Garlic Buttered Noodles

Cheesy Pastas with Breadcrumbs and Whipped Brown Butter Vinaigrette

Blushing Italian Sausage and Rigatoni Pasta Bake

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