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#CookClub recipe: Lemony Ricotta Pasta

 
Savor a taste of spring with Lemony Ricotta Pasta, which includes fresh and flavorful pea shoots/tips.
Savor a taste of spring with Lemony Ricotta Pasta, which includes fresh and flavorful pea shoots/tips.
Published April 27, 2015

Food is all about connection, whether it's making a meal in the family kitchen or bonding with friends over a divine cheese plate. In this new weekly column, I want to connect with you about everything from our nation's changing eating habits to the local foodie scene to what's cooking in my kitchen. Look for cooking tips and food trends, with a particular focus on clean, healthy eating and how to put together simple, satisfying recipes.

For once, my absent-mindedness led to something good. Specifically, a new ingredient in my kitchen.

Earlier this month, during a particularly stressful week, I unexpectedly got an email from recipe delivery service Blue Apron saying a box of food was on its way to my doorstep. Oops. Turns out I forgot to unsubscribe from the online service after signing up to write a story about Blue Apron and other mail-order services Plated and HelloFresh for this section last month.

When the box containing step-by-step meals showed up, it was a blessing in disguise, bringing me no-fuss dinners when I needed them and opening my eyes to an ingredient I hadn't previously cooked with: pea shoots.

They're the leaves, stems and tendrils of the pea plant, and they're used often in Asian cooking, where I had encountered them, deliciously, before.

Bon Appétit magazine is gaga over the delicate green, too, advising to "find them at specialty grocers, Asian markets, and farmstands. Pea sprouts (skinny stems, tiny leaves) are the immature tips of the shoots, and can replace shoots in a pinch."

Pea shoots can be eaten raw, subbed in for a variety of leafy greens in salads, or wilted in stir-fries or, as in the Blue Apron meal, pasta dishes. The light and delicate pea flavor is quintessential springtime; they deliver an outrageous freshness.

For novice gardeners, pea shoots are also quite easy to grow. They can thrive in small, bright spaces indoors, and best of all it doesn't take long before they're ready to eat. As the leaves of the pea plant, they can be snipped and eaten shortly after the plant has started growing. That's a plus for those (like me) who lack the green thumb necessary to nurture the plant long enough to grow the actual peas.

This week's #CookClub recipe is inspired by those fresh, flavorful shoots. It's a simple pasta dish that could be bolstered with sauteed chicken or meatballs but is fine on its own and packed with greens including the peas and arugula.

The dish is held together by creamy ricotta cheese and lemon juice, an ingredient combination I turn to often for everything from dessert (lemon ricotta pound cake, anyone?) to dinner. It's light and subtle, just like my new favorite green, the springy pea shoot.

Contact Michelle Stark at mstark@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8829. Follow @mstark17.