Spinach Ricotta Pasta with Lemon Butter Chicken
Pasta tossed with creamy spinach ricotta sauce with a hint of lemon and garlic, then topped with lemon butter chicken breasts.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron casserole dish
- This is an affiliate link.Large pot
- This is an affiliate link.Enamel colander
Ingredients
For the lemon butter chicken
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts skinless and boneless
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 clove sliced garlic
- 1 lemon
For the spinach ricotta pasta
- 450 g /1lb pasta such as linguine or your favourite
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 250g/1cup ricotta cheese
- 125ml/1/2cup reserved pasta water
- 100g/2cups fresh spinach
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped mint or 1 tsp dried mint
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil or 2 tsp dried basil
- salt
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
For the lemon butter chicken
- Season 2 chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Preheat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and sear the chicken breasts on each side until golden.
- Lower the heat, then add butter, sliced garlic and let it cook for 30 seconds, then add lemon juice to the pan together with a few lemon slices and stir to combine. Cover the the pan and let the chicken breasts cook on low heat turning them over once and basting them with the juices a couple of times for approximately 10 minutes until no longer pink inside. Remove to a separate plate and keep warm till needed.
For the spinach ricotta pasta
- Cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot of salted water.
- While the pasta is cooking melt 1 tbsp butter in a large pan, add sliced garlic and cook for 30 seconds on low heat, then add lemon zest and lemon juice, ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup of pasta water. (Just ladle some from your pasta pot.) Mix everything until the ricotta is well incorporated.
- Add fresh spinach, chopped mint and basil, cover with a lid and let the greens wilt for 2 minutes. Then take the lid off and stir everything to combine, add salt to taste.
- Drain the pasta and add directly to the pan with spinach ricotta sauce, toss to combine. Slice the lemon butter chicken and place on top of pasta. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Notes
- Cooking pasta al dente means that the pasta retains some chewiness instead of becoming soggy. I can’t stand overcooked pasta, so I put the timer on for a couple of minutes less than the package recommends and test the pasta until I think it’s perfect.
- I went with linguine for this pasta because I like how the long, flat shape works with the sauce. But it’s hard to go wrong with this dish. Almost any shape, including short ones, will work here.
- Be sure to use fresh pasta. If less than fresh, it can affect both the taste and texture of the sauce.
- The ricotta sauce needs to be cooked over low heat to avoid curdling the cheese.
- Reserve a cup of pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. The starch in the water will ensure the sauce remains creamy.
- Fresh parmesan cheese gives a lot of flavour to the pasta and is miles better than the freeze-dried variety. Other hard Italian cheeses like Grano Padana are also perfect here.
- The spinach can be replaced with fresh arugula (or rocket in the UK).
Nutrition
Calories: 766kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 324mg | Potassium: 844mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1770IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 229mg | Iron: 2.6mg