Farfalle and Sundried Tomato Pesto, with Ricotta or Tofu
I’m finding it much more difficult to redo a week to suit a new season than it was to do a week from scratch. I try out a new recipe and want to use it, like I did this one, but it won’t fit in the week I am working on.
Part of the problem is that I’ve always had a failure of imagination when it comes to putting myself in a different climate. I always pack poorly when going on a trip, and am either chilly or too hot the whole time, or wish I had a hat or have two pairs of the wrong shoes. I know that produce options are broader further south and east, but can’t get my head into that more varied world.
I don’t even really know what is growing right around me at the moment. I live with ferns, moss and cedars. I can walk along a beautiful wooded path from my house to a creek on the edge of our property. I see freshwater mussels, river otter and great blue heron, and pass trillium, huckleberries and salmonberries along the way, but aside from a few blueberry bushes and some mint, I haven’t planted food in the ground. Too many other creatures get to the food before I do unless I want to do constant battle with them, and I have very little viable area in which to grow things. I’m hoping to visit a local farm from time to time to see what they have coming up.
So I’m making what is a late-winter recipe. Lemons could easily still be on some trees in some places, but those places wouldn’t have to rely on sun dried tomatoes at this point. Still, this pesto is surprisingly zippy and delightful; I was worried that I overdid the lemon, but once I added the creamy ricotta it was perfect. I tried it with tofu, too, and it was nearly identical. This is terrific whether it is vegetarian or vegan.
Edit – Looking at the photo, I realize I should have added a scrape of nutmeg to the top of the cheese. It should be mixed into the pasta by the diner just before eating, which will incorporate the nutmeg into the dish. If you are using tofu, add a few scrapes before stirring. It will be perfect. You add the cheese at the end, by the way, because it is not hot and the contrast of the hot pasta and the cool or lukewarm cheese is very pleasant.
Serves 4
15 minutes
1 Recipe Sun Dried Tomato Pesto with Walnuts and Lemon
(can be made while pasta is cooking)
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese or silken tofu, warmed to room temperature if possible
Parsley and fresh nutmeg (not shown) for garnish
12 oz. Farfalle pasta (bow ties)
Put pasta water on to boil and cook pasta.
In large, hot pasta bowl, thin pesto with a little of the starchy pasta cooking water. (You can heat the bowl with very hot water or add a little water to the bowl and nuke it for a minute or two if it is safe for the bowl, or warm the bowl in the oven if you are using the oven anyway.) Add cooked, drained pasta to the sauce and mix thoroughly.
If using ricotta, in a small mixing bowl, use a fork to break up the ricotta into a creamy paste. Serve pasta and top each serving with a dollop (¼ cup) cheese.
If using tofu, warm first, mix into pasta and serve.
Date: April 16, 2010
