Saucy pasta is piled on top of rich, sweet, spicy Calabrian hot honey whipped ricotta and finished with toasted, crushed pine nuts for a deliciously decadent dinner.
Sweet, spicy, decadent whipped ricotta made with Calabrian chili oil and hot honey with a simple, saucy pasta. What’s not to love?
The secret ingredient in this recipe? Hot honey paired with Calabrian chili oil. Whipped into creamy ricotta, it makes for an amazingly rich vehicle for pasta in a simple tomato sauce.
To save time, you could use your favorite store-bought tomato sauce, but I make a simple sauce with a few aromatics, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and plenty of basil. While it simmers, I use that time to prepare the whipped ricotta, toast the pine nuts, and cook the pasta. From there, it’s just a matter of tossing the pasta with the sauce, piling it on top of the creamy ricotta, and finishing with crushed nuts and fresh basil leaves.
The finished dish is stunning at the table and delivers such much bold flavor in each bite!
How to make this pasta with Calabrian hot honey ricotta
What you need
- Tomato sauce: I make a simple tomato sauce with onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, thyme, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and fresh basil. Feel free to use your favorite jarred tomato sauce if you don’t feel like making your own!
- Whipped ricotta: You’ll need ricotta cheese. I recommend whole-milk ricotta as opposed to part-skim for the best texture and flavor. You’ll blend it with heavy cream, lemon juice, Calabrian chili oil, and hot honey.
- Pasta and garnishes: I recommend a big tubular pasta. In this case, I used lumaconi, which is a bigger version of lumache (some brands call this shape shellbows, and it is similar in shape to pipe rigate). You can also make this with paccheri or rigatoni instead. I finish the pasta with crushed, toasted pine nuts and fresh basil leaves. Toasted, sliced almonds and minced parsley would also be delicious.
- Step 1: Make the sauce. Sauté a diced onion and then add minced garlic, dry thyme, crushed red pepper, and butter. Sauté in the butter until fragrant. Add tomato paste and sizzle it until it deepens in color, about 2 minutes. From there, add crushed tomatoes and a bit of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, season with salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar. Add a few basil sprigs and simmer the sauce over low heat for about 30 to 45 minutes. Add more water as needed if it reduces too quickly.
- Step 2: While the sauce simmers, make the whipped ricotta. Gather the ricotta, heavy cream, lemon juice, hot honey, and Calabrian chili oil in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Use an electric hand mixer or a whisk and blend until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until needed.
- Step 3: Toast the nuts in a small saucepan for just a minute or two. Transfer to a cutting board and chop with a knife or crush with a mallet. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle to crush them.
- Step 4: Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve a bit of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- Step 5: Taste the sauce and remove and discard the basil sprigs. Add the cooked pasta, adding pasta water as needed and tossing gently until the pasta is well-coated. Turn off the heat.
- Step 6: Serve it up! Spoon the ricotta onto plates and smooth it into a circle with the back of your spoon. Pile the cooked pasta on top. Finish with crushed pine nuts, basil leaves, and an extra drizzle of Calabrian chili oil for a bit of extra heat if you prefer.
Pasta with Calabrian Hot Honey Ricotta
Inspired by the Half Baked Harvest shells recipe (unstuffed stuffed shells) this pasta with Calabrian hot honey ricotta is a delicious and easy way to enjoy pasta with ricotta.
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Servings: 5
Calories: 631kcal
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or whisk
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion (peeled and diced)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon dry thyme
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup water (plus more if needed)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (more or less to taste, to soften the acidity of the canned tomatoes)
- 3 sprigs basil
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon hot honey
- 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili oil
- 16 ounces lumaconi pasta (or your favorite tubular pasta such as rigatoni or lumache)
For serving:
- ¼ cup pine nuts (or slivered almonds)
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
Start the sauce:
- Heat 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onion and cook for 7 to 10 minutes until it softens.
- Add butter, minced garlic, thyme, and crushed red pepper. Sauté for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it deepens in color.
Simmer the sauce:
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar, ½ cup of water, and 3 sprigs of basil. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes. Add more water as needed if the sauce reduces too quickly or sticks to the bottom. Remove and discard the basil after the sauce finishes simmering.
Prepare the whipped ricotta:
- In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon hot honey, and 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili oil. Season with salt. Using an electric hand mixer or whisk, blend the ricotta until smooth and creamy. Taste and add more honey, chili oil, or salt if needed. Transfer to the refrigerator until needed.
Toast the pine nuts:
- Turn the heat on a small skillet to medium. Add the pine nuts and toast for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop or crush with a mallet. Alternatively, crush the pine nuts in a mortar and pestle.
Cook the pasta:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the sauce is about 10 minutes away from finishing cooking, add the pasta. Right before draining, scoop out ½ cup of pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and set it aside. Time this so that you are draining the pasta right as the sauce finishes simmering!
Finish the pasta:
- Taste the sauce and season the sauce to your preferences. Add half the pasta cooking water to the sauce and bring to a low boil. Add the cooked pasta and reduce the heat to low. Gently toss the pasta in the sauce for about 1 minute or until the pasta is completely coated, adding more pasta cooking water if needed. Turn off the heat.
To serve:
- Spoon the whipped ricotta onto plates and pile the cooked pasta on top. Sprinkle the crushed pine nuts over each dish and finish with fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with more Calabrian chili oil if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 631kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 21g | Sodium: 351mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin C: 21mg
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