Pasta Ricotta e Zucchine

Pasta with a cold-fold ricotta sauce and sautéed courgettes, finished with Parmigiano. A vegetarian weeknight dish at €0.77 per serving — no cooking the sauce.

Serves: 4Prep: 5 minCook: 15 minTotal: 20 minDifficulty: EasyCuisine: Italian
→ Calculate ingredient cost for this recipePrices are editorial estimates (Q1 2025). Confidence rating shown after calculation.

Pasta Ricotta e Zucchine

Pasta ricotta e zucchine combines the cold-fold ricotta sauce technique from pasta ricotta e limone with sautéed courgettes. The courgettes are cooked separately, the ricotta sauce is assembled in a bowl, and the hot drained pasta brings everything together. No cooking the sauce. Ready in 20 minutes at approximately €0.77 per serving.

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • 320g dry pasta (rigatoni, penne, or spaghetti)
  • 200g fresh ricotta (ricotta vaccina)
  • 250g courgettes (2 small), cut into 5mm rounds
  • 40g Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, finely grated
  • 2g black pepper, freshly cracked
  • Salt

Instructions

1. Cook the courgettes Heat a thin film of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the courgette slices and cook without moving for 2–3 minutes until golden on one side. Flip and cook 1 minute more. Season with salt. Set aside — they will go into the bowl with the ricotta.

2. Make the ricotta base In a large serving bowl, combine the ricotta, half the Parmigiano, and cracked black pepper. Season lightly with salt. Stir to a smooth paste. Set the bowl near the stove.

3. Cook the pasta Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta to 1 minute less than package time. Reserve 150ml of pasta cooking water.

4. Combine Ladle 100ml of the hot pasta water into the ricotta bowl and stir — the water loosens the ricotta into a creamy sauce. Drain the pasta and transfer immediately to the bowl. Add the courgettes. Toss vigorously for 60–90 seconds, adding more pasta water in small amounts to reach a coating consistency.

5. Finish and serve Scatter the remaining Parmigiano over the top. Add a final grind of pepper. Serve immediately.

Notes

The ricotta must not be heated on the stove. Like all ricotta sauces, the technique relies on pasta water as the only heat source — direct heat causes the proteins to coagulate and the whey to separate, producing a grainy sauce that cannot be recovered.

Courgettes add texture and bulk without adding significant cost. For a simpler ricotta pasta without vegetables, see pasta ricotta e limone (adds lemon zest) and pasta ricotta e spinaci (uses wilted spinach rather than sautéed courgettes).

Cost Context

At Italian supermarket prices (Q1 2025): pasta-secca (€1.65/kg), ricotta (€6.50/kg), zucchine (€2.00/kg), parmigiano-reggiano (€17.50/kg), pepe-nero (€20.00/kg). Total for 4 servings: approximately €3.07 — roughly €0.77 per serving.

Ricotta (€1.30 for 200g) is the dominant cost at approximately 42% of total spend. Parmigiano Reggiano (€0.70 for 40g) adds 23%. Courgettes (€0.50 for 250g) add 16%.

Compare to pasta ricotta e spinaci (€0.80/serving, spinach variation) and pasta ricotta e limone (€0.88/serving, 250g ricotta with lemon). Use the Recipe Cost Calculator for the full itemised breakdown.