STEWART, TABORI & CHANG

Penne with Spinach and Ricotta

Giuliano Hazan, a contributor to SAVEUR.com and the son of Marcella Hazan, the Italian cooking legend, contributed this recipe to our site. He came up with the recipe after making filled pasta; when he had leftover spinach and ricotta filling, he turned the rest of it into a sauce.

When making tortelloni filled with spinach and ricotta I sometimes ended up with leftover filling. It occurred to me that it would make a very nice pasta sauce, so I added a little cream to the mixture and it was delicious — so much so that I've been making it just to use as a pasta sauce. If you use the packaged baby spinach, it is also very quick and simple to prepare.