Sara Jenkins' Penne with Sheep's Milk Ricotta and Mustard Greens

Family is everything, isn't it? After all, I'd be nothing without my mother's love and my father's devotion, that's for sure. And I'd go very hungry indeed if it wasn't for the presence of my Sicilian uncle in my life.

Without him, I would have never known the pleasure of tiny cockles stewed in tomato sauce and eaten with a toothpick on New Year's Eve, or the glory that is a perfectly stuffed and battered fried zucchini flower. I ate my first raw oyster at his behest (though it didn't exactly - er - go down as it should have, and the humiliation of that moment still stings a bit), consider my best spaghetti dinners to be the ones that I learned by watching him (and, by extension, my aunt - who is no Sicilian, it's true, but a gifted cook and exacting taster nonetheless), and I still know absolutely no one who can clean artichokes as well as he can and perform the kind of culinary magic with them that he's capable of (fried, braised or stewed - they are incredible).

Now that the rigors of adulthood and certain geographical realities prohibit me from seeing my family as often as I'd like, the wonder of email and the Internet keeps us linked even when we cannot be together. So when my Sicilian uncle read that I'd finally found Giovanni Rana's pasta around the corner here, it reminded him to tell me about his latest discovery.

Aren't you glad I'm the generous, information-sharing type? It was Pasta Setaro - an artisanal pasta made in Campania and sold (oh so luckily!) right around the other corner here, at Buon Italia. I hided myself over to get a kilo of penne and a wedge of imported ricotta Romana for the dish I'd been eager to make for years, since I first spied it in the New York Times Magazine, in a profile of Sara Jenkins (chef and daughter of Nancy Harmon Jenkins).

Sara has you boil pasta while you wilt pungent mustard greens in olive oil and slivered garlic. When the pasta is cooked and the greens are sufficiently wilted, you stir a goodly amount of ricotta into the greens, off the heat, and add the drained pasta. A plentiful shower of Parmigiano tops the dish. If you've never had sheep's-milk ricotta, trust me when I tell you that there is absolutely no way you can substitute the supermarket version here. You'd be disappointed in the mediocrity of the dish and you'd resent me. Do your best to find imported ricotta from Italy for this recipe. I'm not sure it's worth trying with anything less.

(An aside for those of you who live in New York: I recommend a visit to A Voce where Andrew Carmellini serves Sardinian ricotta as an appetizer. It's worth the trip, the expense, the everything.)

(Oh wait, and another aside: my absolute favorite spaghetti-with-ricotta dish is even more delicious than this one and is quite easy to make. Make a simple tomato sauce (by browning a clove of garlic lightly in olive oil, then adding pureed tomatoes of the highest quality possible and simmering them until the flavors meld, adding a pinch of salt and a few leaves of fresh basil - that's it). When you dress your cooked pasta with the tomato sauce, add a dollop of good ricotta, the best you can find. Mix the whole thing together, and top, if desired, with grated Parmigiano. It's bliss, this dish, I guarantee it.)

I loved Sara's mustard-green pasta, not just because it was light and healthy and flavorful and just plain good, but because it reminded me of my family and, by extension, the happy summers of my childhood. My taste memories are among the strongest ones I have, and yet it always surprises me just how instantly a mouthful of soft cheese can catapult me into my grandfather's dining room, thousands of miles away. (When we were little, my cousins and I were allowed to sprinkle sugar on the spoonfuls of ricotta on our plates. The crunch of the sugar crystals under my teeth along with the faintly chalky texture of the pale, smooth ricotta was total sensory bliss. Now that we're grown-ups, we eat the ricotta plain and savor its delicate complexity. But I cannot wait to teach my children to eat their ricotta the way I used to.)

Living so far away from people I love is no picnic. But it is a deep, abiding comfort to find their presence so readily in my home when I get into the kitchen to cook the way they taught me to, with the ingredients that flavor their lives and my own. In a month, I'm taking Ben with me to Italy to see my family and show him the (real) tastes of home. I am counting the days and I know he is, too.

Penne with Sheep's Milk Ricotta and Mustard Greens
Serves 4

Sea salt
1 pound penne or maccheroni
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 large bunches mustard greens (about 12 ounces each), stems removed, cut into 2-inch strips
6 to 7 ounces sheep's milk ricotta, run through a food mill (about 1 3/4 cups)
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender but firm at the core, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and cook until golden.

2. Add the mustard greens and about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water, just enough to steam the greens. When only a little liquid is left in the pan and the greens have wilted, remove the pan from the heat and add the ricotta, stirring with a wooden spoon until the cooking liquid is removed.

3. When the pasta is done, drain it, add it to the sauce and fold everything together. Sprinkle with a handful of grated cheese and fold together again. Season to taste. Serve with more grated cheese on the side.

Comments

[Nosheteria]

This recipe sounds good, but your recipe for tomato-ricotta spagetti? That sounds super, simple and lovely.

[foodmomiac]

Must find Chicago source for Sheep's Milk Ricotta.
That looks outrageously good.

[Honeybee]

I really want to try this but I need a little more guidance: what kind of ricotta is it you need exactly? The soft kind in tubs or the hard kind which can be grated (ricotta salata). Thank you so much!!

[Mary]

This sounds so great. I'm a big fan of ricotta on my pasta - either of the ways you describe here make me swoon. I've been making ricotta lately, it's a cinch and much better than what you can buy just about anywhere. My question is, where'm I gonna get a sheep to give me some milk?

[Lydia]

Wish I had a Sicilian uncle like yours! I don't think I've ever had sheep's milk ricotta, but I'm off to the Federal Hill area of Providence to track it down.

[ann]

For some reason, while reading this, I imagined your uncle as a relative of MFK Fisher's Burgundian friend that teaches her and her family how to gather and eat snails. They're both such rich, potent stories about food and family. I hope Ben likes your family. If he doesn't, can I go next time? (just kidding!)
wonderful recipes, thanks Luisa.

[Luisa]

Adrienne - oh it is SO good. And so easy. And SO GOOD. You'll love it, I'm sure.

Danielle - Must must must! There must be Italian distributors in Chicago, no? That's where I'd look first.

Honeybee - sheep's-milk ricotta is soft and fresh and snowy-white. That's what you need to be looking for. In Italy, the ricotta is gently pressed into rounded dome shapes (of a sort) and then cut into wedges, depending on how much you want.

Mary - up where you are, I'll bet you could find a farmer willing to sell you some sheep's milk! Ooh, wouldn't that be a fun adventure/experiment/blog post? ;)

Lydia - good luck... if you're not successful at first, I wonder if asking the good folks at Al Forno would help you track the stuff down. Keep me posted!

Ann - ha, yes! If Ben doesn't like it there, then you can come next time ;)

[deb]

This is such a gorgeous post, Luisa, I have not a single useful thing to add.

... But you just know I am itching to hear about those braised artichokes. My mind already ticks with ideas.

[Chrisitne]

The pasta sounds fantastic. And pasta with tomato sauce and a dollop of good ricotta was one of my favorite meals growing up.

Man am I jealous of your upcoming trip!

[Chrisitne]

Oh my! I just clicked on the link to your family...I spent a summer in Urbino a few years ago at the University there. It is absurdly beautiful. Had my first Mojito at the Art Cafe in town, saw Beck perform on the mountain, and drank entirely too wine the entire time. Thanks for awakening a couple of memories!

[Molly]

Beautiful, beautiful post, friend. I wish I could hide in your suitcase and come along with you and Ben...

xo!

[Leah]

Once again, Molly beat me to it. Fastest fingers in the west up there. Beautiful post, I want to stow away on your trip, and by the way - yay, a Luisa tomato sauce recipe! I'm secretly hoping for more.

[Patricia Scarpin]

Luisa, this dish has my name all over it - love so much all the ingredients!!

[Sarah]

If I loved this post anymore, I would ask her to be my bride. :)

[Julie]

I'm making a whole list of things I need to check out: Pasta Setaro, Giovanni Rana's pasta, sheep's milk ricotta...

If I were making a list of things I wish I had in my kitchen, a Sicilian uncle of my own would be right at the top. Yours sounds like a gem.

[Dorie]

While you were lucky to have such a rich childhood, we're so lucky to be able to read about it. It must mean a lot to your family to be able to read how important they were and continue to be in your life.

[Mary]

I'm checking in again about the sheep's milk ricotta. I tried all of the sources for sheep's milk I thought would possibly have it and came up with a whole lot of nada. I did, however, find a nice person at the Old Chatham Sheepherding company in Old Chatham, NY who informed me that they use all of their sheep's milk to make cheeses, including a half cow/half sheep's milk ricotta. She also told me that anyone producing sheep's milk in the area is also putting it all into cheese, so I'll have a hard time finding just the milk. Looks like I'll be supporting my local artisinal cheesemaker instead of making my own for now. FYI: Old Chatham is not too far from where I live and not much more than 100 miles from NYC.

[Mercedes]

I've finally gotten around to commenting, but I can't tell you how much this resonated with me. It is soo hard to be far away from family (and the tastes of home). The one thing I've learned is to pick up the phone (or skype) more often than you might normally, and that cooking is a good way to feel at home, no matter where you are.

[B.]

Ah, your New York ideas of greens are so quaint. I work at an independent grocer in North Florida, where a single "large bunch" of mustard greens is on the order of four or five pounds! This is, however, a delicious idea, not too dissimilar from one I make using fresh chevre and Red Russian kale.

[Anne]

I bought a bunch of mustard greens on impulse. Now I know what to do with them! After a jaunt to Chelsea for some pasta, natch.

Question: where do you recommend buying a good sheep's milk ricotta in NYC?

[Luisa]

Deb - Let me know what your itching brain comes up with! I'm far too lazy to peel enough artichokes for braising them like he does, but if I ever get the recipe, I'll let you know.

Christine - isn't it a lovely place? My grandfather lives in a little village about 15 minutes away (by car). I'm counting the days!

Molly - wouldn't that be fun? You'll have to join us sometime soon.

Leah - I don't know, my repertoire is pretty limited. But this is among my favorites, so enjoy! I hope you already have ;)

Patricia - oh good! It's such a simple, homey dish, but so sublime with all the right ingredients. Yum. I wish there were leftovers.

Sarah - aw!!! She'd accept, of course.

Julie - his head is getting a bit fat at this rate ;)

Dorie - well, thank you! I'm so lucky to have them.

Mary - Good to know! If I ever find anyone selling it at the Greenmarket down here I'll let you know and tell you where to find it.

Mercedes - I'm glad you empathize. Modern technology certainly has made a lot of things easier, hasn't it?

B. - aren't you lucky! Though I don't know what I'd do if I brought home 5 pounds of mustard greens on any given day.

Anne - hee, I think your pregnancy brain might be kicking in: I buy my ricotta where I get the pasta, at Buon Italia! It's in the refrigerated cheese case. Enjoy!

[Leticia]

It looks wonderful. I think my husband - who's crazy about cheese - will love it.
-Leticia

[coralie]

it's 7:30pm on saturday and I'm starving!
this recipe looks great. I do have a good banana recipe for you. miss you
CC

[Susan from Food "Blogga"]

That's one of the beauties of cooking--it keeps us connected to family and traditions. This pasta sound divine; I'll have to try it.

[Nancy]

Ah pasta! Where would we be without it. I am envious of your Italian uncle. I don't even know any Italian Uncles. I guess I'll have to live through you and get all my great pasta from you. I'm making this one tonight. Looks easy and sounds delicious.

[Tammy]

Wow, this looks amazing. It's exactly the kind of thing I like. And why did it take me so long to find your blog? No one knows.

Actually, I saw it mentioned in the Tufts mag. So nice to meet another alum and fellow food blogger. Go Jumbos.

[Luisa]

Leticia - this is definitely a cheese-lover's dish! But not too heavy, either. Perfect, really.

Coralie - that's what having a baby will do to you, I guess! See you soon, I hope. Tell me more about that banana recipe!

Nancy - I promise to share ;)

Tammy - welcome fellow Jumbo! Are you related to Joe Donroe who played basketball at Tufts?

[Tammy]

Yup, Joe is my second cousin. Though, oddly, I had never met him until he came to Tufts. Small world!

[james]

Oh my god. This was the most delicious pasta dish I've made in a long time! We got a deal on some pre-washed mustard greens and I scoured the web for recipes. So glad I stumbled upon this one. Thanks!!

[Sandra Kister]

The shrimp and mango salad sounds divine, but I'm in Rio in Brazil and can't find fish sauce for the life of me. It's too bad because there are so many good mangoes here. Can you suggest any possible substitute?

[Luisa]

Sandra - there's really no substituting for fish sauce, but you could try it with soy sauce, instead....

[mbbored]

Oh sweet Jehosaphat. I realize I'm very late to find this post (found it through the comment discussion of your post on homemade ricotta) but this is what I'm making for dinner tonight. As a CSA member in the south, I have greens almost every week. Your collard squares have pulled me through so much, but this is my new turnip green recipe.

[Chitra]

This is such a great recipe. I made a similar variation yesterday incorporating some pieces of a recipe from Lidia Bastianich for spinach and ricotta pasta. To make the ricotta smooth, I mixed in a bit of milk and it really gave great texture.

[JN]

I can't comment on this recipe, but I tried your suggestion of adding ricotta to pasta with a simple tomato sauce. Now I don't think I could have it any other way! So simple, yet absolutely delicious! Having not ever cooked with ricotta, I am such a convert - thanks for opening my eyes!!