Sausage & Garlic Pasta with Whipped Ricotta

Ingredients

• 350 g pasta (orecchiette are perfect in this dish)
• 1 cup of ricotta
• ½ lemon zested
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 450 g lean ground pork
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp crushed chili flakes
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup starchy pasta cooking water
• ½ cup cream
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
• 1 cup fresh basil and parsley, finely chopped

Directions

1. Bring to boil a large pot of water, salt liberally. Once boiling, drop in the pasta. Stir gently and cook 2 minutes shy of the cooking time on the package.
2. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to blend ricotta, lemon zest, olive oil, cream, salt, and pepper until smooth and airy.
3. In a large sauté pan on high heat, add the olive oil, pork and spread over the entire pan. Add salt, pepper, chili flakes, sweet paprika, fennel seeds and garlic. Allow the meat to form a crust. Using a wooden spoon, break the meat into smaller pieces and toss with the flavors. Deglaze the pan with white wine.  Add cherry tomatoes, pasta water, cream and season with salt and pepper. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat, add parmigiano Reggiano, the pasta and fresh herbs. Stir together to get the sauce coating the pasta. Plate, then dollop with whipped ricotta.