Name: Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 16 oz pasta of your choice, we had penne on hand, cooked in salted water as box directs; 4 oz Diced Pancetta; 2 cloves Garlic, whole; 1/4 cup Fresh kale, secret ingredient, optional.; 1 tsp Fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, if using frozen, rinse under cold water to thaw; 1 cup ricotta cheese; 1 large juice of lemon; Lemon zest; 3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, divided; 1 tsp sea salt; 1/3 cup Parmesan, grated or shredded; additional Salt and Pepper, to taste; 2 Tbsp Sliced almonds, optional; Dried red pepper, optional

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Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta is the perfect Summertime pasta dish! Fresh, creamy, lemony, and with the salty bite of Pancetta!

Recipes Using Fresh Veggies

I am always on the lookout for different ways to make things green around here, ha, and this was the perfect dish to please the Hubby (who wouldn’t eat greens if I didn’t remind him to) but without using too many weird (to him) veggies (but shhhh, I added a secret ingredient).

Vegetarian Recipes Using Ricotta Cheese

You may notice that I’ve been on a ricotta kick ’round here. Well, it’s true. If you haven’t tried my Honey Cinnamon Ricotta, you MUST. You will literally thank me.

With this Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta recipe, I decided to go savory. To tell you the truth, I had fresh peas I wanted to use, a lemon that was starting to go soft, some diced Pancetta that was a few days from expiring, and voila!

Simple and Easy Summertime Pasta Recipe

Another great thing about this recipe is that the ingredients are simple and inexpensive! I don’t know about you, but I am tired of throwing away costly ingredients that I don’t get much use out of. This is not one of those recipes.

How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pasta

It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but it’s really not. Let me tell you how simple is to make this recipe:

Make your pasta, drain it, set aside.
Brown your Pancetta.
Mix the sauce ingredients right in your blender.
Combine the pasta and sauce.
Top with Pancetta, almonds, extra peas, Parmesan and DONE!

Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta

Yield: 4 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Fresh Peas and Pancetta is the perfect Summertime pasta dish! Fresh, creamy, lemony, and with the salty bite of Pancetta!

Ingredients

16 oz pasta of your choice, we had penne on hand, cooked in salted water as box directs
4 oz Diced Pancetta
2 cloves Garlic, whole
1/4 cup Fresh kale, secret ingredient, optional.
1 tsp Fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, if using frozen, rinse under cold water to thaw
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large juice of lemon
Lemon zest
3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup Parmesan, grated or shredded
additional Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp Sliced almonds, optional
Dried red pepper, optional

Instructions

While the pasta is cooking, add 1 T olive oil to a large pan and saute the Pancetta until beginning to get crispy
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the Pancetta and stir
In a blender, add the kale, garlic, thyme and oregano. Blend well so that the kale and garlic get really nice and blended
To the blender, add the peas (reserving some for topping), ricotta, lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining olive oil, Sea or Kosher salt, and some fresh pepper. Blend well until almost smooth - this was almost a full minute for mine.
Add the ricotta pea sauce to the pasta and Pancetta, and mix well to combine. Stir in half of the Parmesan cheese.
Serve, topping with the rest of the cheese, peas, dried red pepper, and almonds
Enjoy with some fresh baked bread!

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 servings Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 688Total Fat 36gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 47mgSodium 949mgCarbohydrates 69gFiber 6gSugar 12gProtein 24g

Nutrition calculation is offered as a courtesy and no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. The data provided are a product of online nutrition calculators and should be considered an estimate only. I am not a registered dietician nor a certified nutritionist. For more accurate information, or if you have dietary restrictions, please consult a trusted professional. A Healthy Makeover strongly supports Intuitive Eating, body trust, and Health at Every Size.