Whole Wheat Pasta & Snow Peas with Lemon, Mint and Ricotta Sauce

- 1 Pound Whole Wheat Pasta - spaghetti or linguine
- 1 & 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Small/Medium Onion - thin half moon slices
- 3 Garlic Cloves - minced
- 1/2 Pound Snow Peas - blanched and julienned
- Zest from 1 Lemon & Juice from 1/2 Lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 Cup Non-Fat Ricotta
- 1/4 Cup Parsley - roughly chopped & several whole parsley leaves for garnish
- 4-5 Mint Sprigs - roughly chopped & several mint sprigs for garnish
- Freshly Grated Parmesan, Locatelli, or Gran Pandano Cheese for topping finished pasta (optional)
Directions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- While the pasta water is boiling, heat the olive oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer.
- Add in the julienned onions and saute until the onions begin to lightly caramelize, about 6-8
minutes.
- When the onions begin to take on some colour, add in the garlic, stirring to incorporate and monitoring the heat. Don't burn the garlic, caramelize it to bring out the garlic's sweet, nutty essence.
- Reduce heat to low and add in the blanched and julienned snow peas if using (or at this point add in blanched broccoli florets; frozen baby peas; or blanched and 1-inch cut pieces of asparagus.)
- Season the onion mixture lightly with a pinch of salt and a few dashes of freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta until it is al dente. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Drain the pasta and return to the cooking pot.
- Add in the ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice; stir to incorporate.
- Thin the ricotta with some of the reserved pasta cooking water.
- Add to the pasta the sauteed onion and snow pea mixture and half of the chopped parsley and mint. Toss to combine, seasoning to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Plate and garnish with additional parsley and mint.
- As a splurge and for added flavor, top with a good quality freshly grated cheese.
- Serves 4 to 6.
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