This pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce is one of our favourite pasta dishes. The sauce is rich, creamy and super comforting and comes together in just under 20 minutes.
Course Mains, starter
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Creamy tomato and basil pasta, easy pasta recipe, Pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce
10mediumfresh basil leavesreserve a few for garnishing
Instructions
Sauce
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 cloves garlic to a large skillet then turn heat to low.
Once the garlic has softened, stir in 800 grams canned tomatoes and 1 tablespoon salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally then turn off the heat.
Stir in 100 grams ricotta cheese, then tear 10 medium fresh basil leaves and add to the sauce mixing well.
Pasta
Fill ¾ of a large saucepan with water, add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a rolling boil.
Add 500 grams linguine and cook to 1 minute less than the time indicated on the instructions. Drain the pasta reserving 120 millilitres or ½ cup of the pasta water in a small bowl and set aside.
Combine pasta and sauce
Replace the pan with pasta on the stove, pour in the sauce and mix till the pasta is fully coated. Cook for another minute on a medium heat, stirring constantly, adding the pasta water. Remove from the heat and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Notes
Tips for boiling pasta
We used linguine here but this sauce will go with any type of pasta. You could try it with paccheri, penne, rigatoni and even gnocchi.
To boil the pasta, ensure the pan is filled with enough water so the pasta will be fully submerged. The pan needs to be large enough so boiling water can move around each piece of pasta. This way the pasta will cook uniformly not stick together.
Salt the water at the beginning and before it comes to a boil so it flavours all the water.
Add the pasta all at once then stir with a wooden spoon.
Do not add any oil as this will just float on top and affect the temperature of the water.
Watch the clock as cooking times for pasta will vary depending on the type of wheat used. Cook the pasta one minute less than the time on the packet as that last minute will be used to cook the drained pasta with the sauce. Undercooked pasta will be raw inside and inedible, while overcooked pasta will be soft, starchy and sticky and won't taste good at all.
When draining the water away, reserve a little (around half a cup) of the pasta water on the side to mix with the sauce so it helps coat the pasta and gives a little creaminess to the sauce.
Tips for making the sauce
Use a good brand of canned tomatoes, it makes so much difference to the flavour as the tomatoes will be richer and less acidic.
To prevent the garlic from burning, add it to the olive oil then turn the heat on low, so the oil and garlic slowly heat up releasing flavour.
For a smoother sauce use a potato masher, a hand blender or jars of sieved tomato sauce (passata).
The amount of pasta sauce required should be just enough to coat all the pasta and not make the pasta 'soupy'.
Tear the basil leaves rather than chopping them, to release more flavour and avoid bruising.
The tomato sauce can be made ahead without the ricotta then stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or kept frozen for up to three months. Thaw and reheat, then stir in the ricotta before using.
After adding ricotta, the sauce will thicken slightly.
Serve immediately, this recipe is not suitable for storing.