Sometimes instagram makes me crazy — the always changing algorithms, my slight addiction to checking it — but one thing I currently love about it is that it’s an instant feedback loop for my content. People tend to comment on my blog posts less and less, but more and more I’m having great 1:1 conversations with readers in Instagram messages. Last week I shared a fun summer BBQ menu idea, and right after posting it I got a ton of questions from readers about the pasta dish in the images. I wasn’t planning on sharing the pasta recipe because I didn’t have great photos of it, and the recipe needed some adjustments. But after a few requests I decided to write it up and with some tweaks! 
It was very simple — some warm wagon wheel pasta (great for kids!) mixed up with peas, ricotta, lemon juice and shaved parmesan cheese. It’s a nice dish to serve warm — not cold like a pasta salad, and not hot like a hearty winter dish — just something with a little warmth to make the cheeses melty to coat the pasta pieces. I originally tested the recipe with a chickpea based pasta and it was just OK; I’m a big believer that I’d always rather have the real thing in moderation — but feel free to try it with any type of pasta you’d like! Get the recipe below
- ½ Lb of Wagon Wheel Pasta
- 1 Cup of Fresh Peas
- ¼ Cup of Ricotta Cheese
- ¼ Cup of Olive Oil
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 1 Clove of Garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp of Parsley (plus more for garnish)
- ¼ Cup of Shaved Parmesan Cheese
- Salt and Pepper
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta as directed to al dente. During the last two minutes of cooking, add peas to the water to cook. Drain pasta and peas, reserving about ¼ cup of the pasta water.
- While pasta cooks, combine ricotta cheese, olive oil, juice of one lemon, finely grated garlic, and parsley in a large bowl.
- Add warm pasta and peas to the ricotta mixture and toss to coat; add in 2-3 Tbsp of the reserved pasta water to get sauce to desired texture.
- Toss with parmesan cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional fresh parsley and serve immediately.
