Baked Ricotta Tomato Pasta

Name: Baked Ricotta Tomato Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

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roubashahin.com.au

Mains

A spicy tomato pasta with warm honey-baked ricotta tossed through — a recipe shared with me over the counter of a cheese shop.

PREP TIME

10 minutes

COOK TIME

25 minutes

SERVES

4-6

About this recipe

This baked ricotta tomato pasta came to me the way the best recipes always do — over a counter, mid-conversation. I used to buy my cheeses from a beautiful family-run Italian shop, and anyone who knows me knows I will talk food with absolutely anybody. The lovely lady behind the counter and I always did. One day she shared the recipe she makes for her boys at home — so easy, she said, and they love it. Well, I had hungry boys of my own, so I went home and made it that night. It has been part of my collection ever since.

The sauce is a simple one — onion, garlic, chilli and a few anchovy fillets that melt completely into the oil, leaving behind a deep savoury richness with nothing fishy about it. A can of diced tomatoes alongside the passata keeps it lighter and fresher, too. What makes this baked ricotta tomato pasta special, though, is the ricotta itself — cut into chunks, drizzled with honey and baked in its own little dish until golden, then tossed through the sauced pasta in warm, sweet, creamy pieces. Every forkful lands a little differently, and that is exactly the point.

If pasta nights are a regular in your house like they are in mine, my Marry Me Chicken Pasta is another one the whole family asks for on repeat. That said, when the weather cools down, my Beef Spaghetti Tomato Soup takes the pasta-and-tomato combination somewhere altogether cosier.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 long red chillies, finely chopped
3 to 4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 x 400 gram can diced tomatoes
500 grams passata (1 bottle)
4 to 5 fresh basil leaves
Cracked black pepper
Salt, to season
500 grams tube pasta
½ cup reserved pasta cooking water
250 grams firm ricotta
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup walnuts, roughly chopped Method

Notes from Rouba

Use a firm block of ricotta from the deli, not the smooth spreadable tub kind — it holds its shape in the oven and tosses through the pasta in lovely golden pieces.
Start with one chilli if you are cooking for the kids. You can always add chilli flakes to your own plate.
Taste the sauce before adding any salt — the anchovies carry a lot of seasoning on their own.
Any tube pasta works here — rigatoni, penne or ziti are all lovely.

Method

Step 1. Make the Sauce

Preheat your oven to 200°C (fan-forced) (220°C conventional) (430°F).

Heat the olive oil in a large deep pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, then add the garlic, chilli and anchovies and cook for another 2 minutes, until the anchovies have melted into the oil. Pour in the diced tomatoes and passata, add the basil and a good grind of cracked black pepper, and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced and thickened. Taste before seasoning — the anchovies are salty, so you may only need a small pinch of salt.

Step 2. Bake the Ricotta and Cook the Pasta

While the sauce simmers, line a small ovenproof dish with baking paper. Cut the ricotta into bigger chunks — not crumbled, just rough pieces — place them on the paper and drizzle the honey over the top. Bake for 10 minutes, until the ricotta is warmed through and golden at the edges. Some of the honey will run onto the paper, and that is fine — it comes into play at the end.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve half a cup of the pasta water, then drain.

Step 3. Bring It Together

Stir the reserved pasta water into the sauce and let it bubble for a minute, then toss the pasta through until every tube is coated. Add the warm honey ricotta in big pieces and gently toss it through, letting it stay in soft, sweet pockets rather than melting away — then lift the baking paper and let every last bit of that syrupy honey slide straight onto the pasta. Finish with the roughly chopped walnuts, a few extra basil leaves and a little more cracked pepper.

A FEW THINGS YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW

Will the pasta taste fishy because of the anchovies?
Not at all. The anchovies melt completely into the oil in the first few minutes of cooking, so there are no visible pieces and no fishy flavour. What you get instead is a rich, savoury depth that makes people ask what your secret is.

What kind of ricotta should I use?
A firm block of ricotta from the deli or the fridge section is what you want here. The smooth ricotta in tubs is too soft — it will melt into the sauce rather than holding those golden little pieces that make this dish.

Can I make this without the chilli?
Of course. The sauce is still full of flavour without it, so leave it out entirely if you are cooking for little ones, or start with half a chilli and see how you go.

Can I make the sauce ahead of time?
Yes — the sauce actually tastes even better the next day. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, then reheat it gently while the pasta cooks and the ricotta bakes

Why do I need to add pasta water to the sauce?
That half cup of starchy pasta water loosens the sauce just enough to coat every tube, and helps it cling rather than sit at the bottom of the bowl. Even if your sauce has reduced nicely before the pasta and ricotta are ready, still add it — stir it through and let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes, and it will come back together silkier than before.

Do I have to use the walnuts?
Not at all — they are completely optional. The dish is lovely without them, so leave them out if you are cooking for anyone with a nut allergy. If you do want that little bit of crunch on top, though, I really recommend them.

Why does the ricotta bake on baking paper?
Because the honey runs — and we are not letting a drop of it go to waste. As the ricotta bakes, some of the honey slides off onto the paper and turns syrupy. At the end, you simply lift the paper and let all of that golden honey slide straight onto the pasta. Nothing wasted, and no baking dish to scrub.

What pasta shape works best?
Any tube pasta is perfect because the sauce catches inside the tubes — rigatoni is my pick, but penne or ziti work just as well.