Last Night's Dinner

Not wanting to waste the last bit of Narragansett Creamery ricotta that was left in my refrigerator, I made a quick ricotta pasta sauce last night. Since my husband has just planted our potted herbs last weekend (after a survey of local nurseries, he says that Lynch's Garden Center in Southampton--175 North Sea Road; 283-5515--has the best selection), the plants were quite tiny, so I snipped a little bit from each pot in order to gather enough for my dish. Here's the recipe:

Pasta with Ricotta, Herbs, and Lemon
Serves 4 to 6

Salt
1 pound penne
3/4 cup cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs (I used basil, mint, thyme, oregano, and chives)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just tender.
2. While the pasta cooks, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, oil, herbs, juice, zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a large bowl.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the water. Add the pasta to the bowl and stir together with the other ingredients, adding some cooking water to moisten as necessary. Season with additional salt an pepper if desired and serve.