Calabrian Ricotta Balls in Tomato Sauce with Pasta

5 from 52 votes

Calabrian Ricotta Balls in Tomato Sauce with Pasta

This fabulous vegetarian version of pasta with 'meatballs' is made with Calabrian ricotta balls in tomato sauce. It is a delicious recipe that's pretty easy to make and perfect for family meals

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Calabria, Italian, Southern Italian

Keyword: authentic Italian pasta recipe, Italian recipe, mafalde, mafaldine, ricotta, ricotta balls, tomato sauce, vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 887kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

For the ricotta balls

500 g ricotta (1lb) cow or sheep milk ricotta
150 g breadcrumbs (5-6oz) or 4 thick slices of stale bread
30 g Parmigiano Reggiano (1oz) for vegetarians use vegetarian parmesan
30 g Pecorino cheese (1oz) or use 60g (2oz) of only one cheese if you don't have both or are vegetarian
2 eggs beaten
1-2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
1 handful fresh parsley finely chopped

For tomato sauce

600 g tomato passata or canned tomatoes (1.3lbs) or half cherry tomatoes and half passata. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters
2 garlic cloves peeled
salt for pasta and to taste
freshly ground black pepper. to taste

Pasta

400 g short mafaldine/mafalde pasta (14oz) or fusilli, penne, paccheri

Instructions

Make the ricotta balls

If using stale bread slices remove the crusts and blend in a food processor to make breadcrumbs. Drain the ricotta well and then put it in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the grated cheese and the breadcrumbs. Mix well. Add the eggs, garlic and chopped parsley mix again until you have a soft homogeneous dough. If it seems dry add a little milk. If it seems too wet, add more breadcrumbs. Form the dough into balls. The size depends on preference. Ours were about the size of a golf ball.

Make the tomato sauce

Cook the garlic cloves in olive oil until they start to soften. Add the halved cherry tomatoes (if using). Turn down the heat and simmer until they are soft too. Add the passata or canned tomatoes and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the pasta

While the sauce is simmering put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. When the pasta is ready drain it and put it back into the pot. Add some tomato sauce to the pasta and mix well.

Finish the dish

While the pasta is cooking add the ricotta balls to the tomato sauce. After 5 minutes turn them gently and continue for another 5-10 minutes. Plate the cooked pasta that you have mixed with some tomato sauce. Put 2-3 ricotta balls onto the pasta with some more tomato sauce.
Serve immediately with more grated cheese if required.

Notes

If your ricotta still has a lot of liquid after draining, you can dry it out by squeezing it in a fine tea towel.

Nutrition