My wife made a trip to Arthur Avenue this weekend and picked up, among other things, some fresh ricotta cheese from Calandra Cheese Market and tagliatelle from Borgatti’s Pasta. While trying to figure out what sauce we should serve with the tagliatelle, she suggested that I make a Tomato Sauce with fresh ricotta on top like she has seen my father do from time to time.

Normally I would think of doing this with a short dried pasta like penne or rigatoni, rather than fresh noodles, but decided to give it a shot anyway and it worked out quite well. You could toss the ricotta with the pasta and sauce before serving, but I like the presentation of spooning it on top.

Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Recipe

Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 25 min | Total time: 30 min

Serves 4

1 35oz can imported Italian tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 fresh basil leaves
1 pound taggliatelle
fresh ricotta cheese

1. Place tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them by hand.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sautè, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook briefly until garlic is lightly browned, less than 1 minute.
4. Add The crushed tomatoes with their juices to the pan. Add 1/2 cup of water season with salt & pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and let simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. At the very end of cooking, tear the basil leaves into pieces with your hands and stir into the sauce.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the Tagliatelle. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
6. Drain the pasta and toss with half of the sauce. Dish pasta out into individual serving plates and top with a little more sauce. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the fresh ricotta on top of each dish of pasta and serve.