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A Family Favorite Pesto & Ricotta Pasta Bake

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Pesto Pasta is a next level dish itself. But mixed with some ricotta and mozzarella cheese and baked until both has molten and the pasta has turned crispy on the top, it is even better. Plus, it really is super super easy to make, a family favorit and healthy(ish)! 

What is special about this dish?

It is not pesto pasta, but similar, just taken next level. Maybe you could say that it is kind of a crossover of pesto pasta and lasagne. The ricotta-egg mixture makes kt all really creamy and adds a nice texture to it, while the mozarella adds the cheesy goodness. So yep, like pesto pasta just with more textures and flavours.

Is this dish healthy?

It definitely is healthyish. And it is green – so it‘s got to be healthy right? Pesto actually is pretty dense in nutrients. There are healthy, unsaturated fats from the olive oil and pine nuts, a bunch if protein from the parmesan cheese and the nuts and a fair amount if vitamins and fibre from the basil. Pesto definitely is healthy.

When using pesto, you really need to make sure to use a good one. One with high quality ingredients!! I either use my Super Easy 10-Minute Homemade Pesto, or the one from Pastafani. This also is made from organic ingredients and tastes soso good! You can get it with a 10% discount when using UNEPETITE10 on their website – it definitely is worth a try!

Then we have the ricotta and mozzarella cheese. They both contain some saturated fat, but they also are packed with protein and calcium. Plus, they add a whole bunch of deliciousness 🙂 then, there also is the pasta. Pasta is a great source of carbohydrates and also protein. If you want to go for a version that is even more nutrient-dense, you could just long for whole grain pasta.

How to make this dish?

As easy as pie (although I think this is easier than pie). What we need to do, is boil the pasta according to package instructions and lix it with the pesto. In the meantime we also need to prepare the ricotta mixture, for which we need to combine the ricotta, egg, salt and pepper. The ricotta mix really adds some depth into the dish and makes it really, really creamy! 

Once the pasta is mixed with the pesto, we‘re adding it to an oven-safe dish. Here, we are then topping it with the dollops of the ricotta mixture and about half of the mozzarella. Now, we need to give it all a good mix, so it gets kind of marble-ish and the ricotta and mozzarella are distributed evenly. What now is left to do is top it with the remaining mozzarella and breadcrumbs and drizzle it with some olive oil. Into the oven it goes and now we need to wait for 25-30 minutes until it‘s crispy on the top. 

While dish dish may look rather fancy or complicated, it really is everything else but this. It is soso simple to prepare and packed with so incredibly much flavor. All in all, it simply is an amazing dinner to feed a hungry fam or some hungry friends. 

I hope you‘ll enjoy this as much as we always do and that you‘ll have an amazing time cooking & eating it! 

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

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A Family Favorite Pesto & Ricotta Pasta Bake

Regular pesto pasta is great yeah, but baked with molten cheesy goodness and indulgence, just damn. Next level. This pesto-ricotta and mozzarella pasta bake is just another level of tastiness and still soso easy to make! A family favorite and a must try!

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Total Time 45 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 400 g penne pasta
  • 200 g basil pesto
  • 100 g ricotta cheese
  • 200 g buffalo mozzarella
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • olive oil, salt & pepper

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

  2. Start by preparing the pasta according to package instructions, but cook 1 minute less.

  3. In the meantime mix the ricotta with the egg, salt and pepper until creamy. Cut the mozzarella into bite sized pieces.

  4. Once the pasta is done cooking, preserve 1/2 a cup of the water they were cooked in and drain the rest. Mix them with the pesto, and some of the pasta water until well combined.

  5. Add them to an oven safe dish and top it all with some dollops of the ricotta mixture and half of the mozzarella. Mix it all through gently, so the ricotta and mozzarella are evenly distributed, then top with the remaining mozzarella and breadcrumbs. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake for 25-30 minutes until crispy on the top.

  6. Serve with some basil and enjoy!!

Family Favourite Easy Pea(sy) and Mint Risotto

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Risotto always is a good choice. Everyone loves it. And the best part about it (besides it being ultra delicious); it is so versatile! You can make it with anything and everything, try different combos, make it seasonal and make it as you like it! Just like we’re doing it with this one. To make it fresher and more summery, we are throwing in some greens & herbs and just taking it next level!

What is special about this dish?

The combination! Mint and pea is a combo that we (unfortunately) do not find very often. Yet, it is so ultra tasty! The peas add a buttery, soft taste to the risotto and the mint accounts for a fresh taste, which you would usually not expect in risotto, but is really, really good. If you want some more risotto recipes, you can check out the wild garlic risotto or the creamy, green vegan risotto!

A little risotto story

Actually, it is quite surprising that I still like risotto as of today since I have a little history with it. As a kid (and still now), when eating out, I’ve always loved trying every single dish on the table. So when we went out to eat, I’d pick up my fork and walk around the table to try the dish my brother ordered, my mom had and my dad ate. I simply loved exploring new flavours.
So once during our holidays in Italy we went out to eat. I was very little, something like 6 or 7 years, and ordered a risotto. My parents‘ and my brother’s dish had arrived before mine did, so I took my fork and walked around the table. Not surprisingly, I could then not finish my risotto, because I have already had quite a bunch of food before I even started eating mine.
My dad, teased me and said (it was well obvious that it was a joke) I should finish or I can never try his meal before mine again. So I, as a little defiant and stubborn kid, knew it was a joke but because I was so stubborn I finished it anyways. My mom and my brother had a lot of fun watching me and my dad and I was so full afterwards that I couldn’t have even looked at more food. Well, anyways, the chef then came out of the kitchen and asked everyone how they liked the meal. You can probably imagine how my family bursted into laughter when he came to ask me.
Although this was (a teeny tiny bit) unpleasant for me, I did not learn my lesson (because I did not want to) and up to this day try everyone else’s dishes.
And, despite all of this, I still love risotto.

Is risotto healthy?

Back to the more important things. While risotto is incredibly nourishing for the soul and the happiness, it is not quite as nourishing for our bodies. Why? In order for it to taste this delicious, it is packed with many saturated fats from the cheese and butter, which are not so great for us. Nevertheless, there are a few things we can change to make it more delicious.

For example, instead of using butter only, we are using a mix of cream cheese and butter. This makes it a bit lighter in terms of fats. Then also, we are adding some peas, for extra fibre and vitamins and mint for extra nutrients. Justa. few swaps, and they do make a difference.

How to make this dish?

Risotto making really is not difficult but it is a workout. It takes some time and effort because you constantly need to stir. We start by frying the finely chopped onions in some olive oil. This adds a really delicious flavour to the entire dish. Then, we add the rice and fry it too before we deglaze it with some white wine. Now the fun part starts. A scoop at a time, we are adding some vegetable broth and letting it simmer (while stirring) until the rice has absorbed it. Then we add another scoop, and another, and so on until the rice is ready to eat. Shortly before that, we’ll add the peas.

As soon as the rice is done and the liquid is absorbed (it really should be very well absorbed because otherwise it’ll be too runny), we can stir in the chopped mint, butter, cream cheese and parmesan. And that already is it! If you want, you could add something on top like grilled zucchini, prawns or anything else, or just enjoy it as is!

This, as the name already suggests, is a real family favourite. And really, you can barely go wrong with it. Very easy to make, and very, very delicious!

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Family Favourite, Easy, Pea(sy) & Mint Risotto

Not your average risotto. Much more fun, a bit healthier and SO much flavour. The combination of peas and mint is just outrageous and perfect for spring and summer. An absolute family favourite!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 25 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 people

What you will need

  • 1,5 l vegetable broth
  • 320 g risotto rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • a splash white wine
  • 400 g peas
  • 1 handful mint
  • 25 g butter
  • 45 g cream cheese
  • 80 g parmesan cheese

How to

  1. Finely dice the onion. Heat up the oil and sautée the onion in it until it is glassy. Add the rice and gently stir through until everything is combined and slightly covered with the oil. Deglaze it with the splash of white wine after about a minute. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add a scoop of the vegetable broth. Constantly stir everything until the vegetable broth has fully been absorbed by the rice, then add the next scoop.

  2. Repeat until the rice is cooked through, for about 15-20 minutes.

  3. In the meantime grate the parmesan, measure out the other ingredients and finely chop the mint.

  4. Once the rice is almost done cooking (after about 20 minutes), add in the peas. When done, take it off the heat and stir in cheeses, butter and mint.

  5. Once everything is well combined, plate it and garnish with some extra parmesan cheese and mint.

Have fun making (and especially eating) it!
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Super Easy Honey – Lemon Chickpea, Avocado & Feta Wraps

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You asked for 10 minute meals, so that’s what you get. And nope, we‘re not talking boring sandwiches or bread with butter. Very little time and very much flavour. That‘s what we’re talking. And there wraps definitely fit this category! 

A soft wrap on the outside filled with all the deliciousness you could imagine. Soft, mashed avo, crunchy greens & veggies, slightly sweet and damn addicting honey chickpeas and asparagus and some tangy feta to top it all off. All of this goodness is wrapped and rolled up. And with every bite you get an explosion of flavors.

What‘s special about this dish?

It comes together super super quickly and still is packed with flavour. It‘s not like your normal wrap that doesn’t take long to make but also does not taste very exciting. This is quick and still contains so many different flavour, although there are not many ingredients needed. Plus, it is vegetarian (vegan except for the feta) and still super versatile.

Is this dish healthy? 

Yes, it definitely is. It is packed with different nutrients of all categories. The wraps deliver us some good & comforting carbs so we‘ll have energy all throughout the afternoon, and when choosing a whole grain one, we‘re also getting some extra fibre for our digestion. Speaking of fibre, there‘s a bunch more of that in the cucumber, the greens, the asparagus and the avocado. And we also get a ton of vitamins therefrom.

Not to forget about the real star of the show; the chickpeas. Chickpeas are an amazing source of plant based protein and also fibre. They also make this dish really filling, and delicious. If you are not a fan of chickpeas, you can also try this recipe with tofu or even with chicken. And lastly, the feta. Feta cheese does not have a huge nutritional value but it comes with quite some protein and a lot of deliciousness!

How to make this dish?

As previously mentioned, this is super super easy. It essentially really only comes down to chopping the veggies and preparing the chickpeas. To make the peas, we only need to add them to a pan along with some olive oil, honey, lemon juice and some chopped up asparagus. We are then turning it onto medium heat and letting the honey caramelize. Since we are adding everything at once, nothing will burn or be more cooked through at the end.

For the veggies we only need to smash an avocado, slice up some cucumber, wash the greens, slice up some spring onions and crumble the feta. Yep, that‘s already it. All that’s now left to do is wrap it up. 

Definitely meal-prep friendly!

This really is amazing for meal prep. You just wrap it up, pack it into a tupperware and then take it to work or to school or to home office. Whenever you want to eat it, you can just take it out and enjoy! It is perfectly filling and very easy to be carried with you! 

I really hope that you‘ll enjoy this dish as much as we do and that you‘ll have an amazing time cooking!!

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Super Easy Honey – Lemon Chickpea, Avocado & Feta Wraps

This definitely is not your average wrap, it is wayyy better and still basically takes no time to make. The combination of slightly sweet Honey Chickpeas, a soft wrap, creamy mashed avo, crunchy veggies and tangy feta is just heaven. A meal prep dream and taste heaven.

Course dinner, lunch, mealprep
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 2 large wraps
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 lemon
  • sea salt
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1 avocado
  • a handful greens
  • 50 g feta cheese

How to

  1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them to a pan along with the olive oil, honey, sea salt and the juice of a lemon. Turn up to medium heat and let it heat up and the honey caramelize, while stirring once in a while, then let simmer for 5 minutes.

  2. In the meantime mash the avocado and mix it with some sea salt. Finely slice the cucumber, wash the greens and crumble the feta cheese.

  3. Once the chickpeas are done, divide the avocado onto the wraps, top it with the cucumber and the greens. Then add the chickpeas and the feta and wrap it up. 

  4. Enjoy! 

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

The Easiest (10 Minute) Strawberry & Chickpea Caprese

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If there is one dish that embodies summer, it definitely is caprese. The Italian vibes, the freshness, the lightness of summer, and all the goodness. All of that not only is summer but can also be found in caprese. Not to mention how delicious it is! Still, as good as the classic one is, once in a while it is fun to switch things up and take them next level. Just as we are doing here.

Caprese actually is one of my favorite, if not my favorite dishes ever. When in Italy I have it at least once a day, in whichever form. Undoubtedly, the combo of tomatoes and burrata or mozzarella is unbeatable. I thought so at least before having tried this. And let me tell you, strawberry and mozzarella does not quite beat tomatoes an mozzarella but it definitely is at least as delicious!! 

Where does Caprese come from?

Maybe you have already noticed; the colours in Caprese, green (from the basil), white (from the mozzarella) and red (from the tomatoes), are identical with the ones in the Italian flag. A coincidence? I don’t know but I don’t think so. The dish also has its name from an Italian island, Capri. There the dish was first served and still is a must serve. If you are a Caprese lover, Capri definitely should be on your food bucket list! 

What’s special about this? 

As mentioned above, this is not your average Caprese. We‘re still keeping the colors, but we‘re changing up the flavors. Instead of tomatoes we are using strawberries and we also are adding some herbed chickpeas to it. You may wonder whether a fruit would taste good in a savory dish, and really, it does (tomato btw is a fruit to, so it‘s not too big of a change). Tomatoes are a bit sweet, and so are strawberries. They definitely do have a quite different flavor, yet the sweetness works in great harmony with the tanginess of the mozzarella.

Plus, the chickpeas are not typical. To all Italian out there, please don’t judge before you try! They add some extra texture and flavor and keep you full for longer due to their fibre. And mozzarella and chickpeas taste really delicious when combined. 

Mozzarella, Burrata, Mozzarella di Bufola? 

Before we are jumping to the health part of the dish, we need to clarify which kind of Mozzarella works best here. What even is the difference? 

So Mozzarella is the regular one. Depending on where you live and from where you buy the mozzarella, it can be harder of softer, yet it already has the typical mozzarella flavor. This one works great for anything that is being baked, like pizza or pasta gratins. Mozzarella di Buffola, is already way softer and higher quality mozzarella. It has a milder flavor and is way creamier than the regular one. Thus, it also is more expensive. This is the one you usually are served in Italy. 

And then there is burrata. I need to warn you though, once you try burrata, you‘ll habe a hard time returning to mozzarella di Buffola or even regular mozzarella. Burrata kind of is the queen of all mozzarella, and well deserved. It comes from Puglia, in the south of italy, and is made from a day old mozzarella and cream. And the result. Oh my goodness. Unreal. Such a creamy and tangy center, you cannot get enough of it. It just is unreal. Burrata usually is served with either caprese or on top of pasta for example.

So which one works best for this dish? 

I would say mozzarella di bufola. Burrata would taste amazing but since it is so creamy, the salad would turn into a (delicious) mess.

What about the chickpeas?

It wouldn’t do the mozzarella justice if we chose an A-level mozzarella but then some regular canned chickpeas – would it? So the chickpeas also have to be next level. Just like the ones from NENI. They actually are simply PERFECT for this dish. Why? They are precooked and prepackaged, so you can just grab them in your supermarket and make this dish even quicker. And they are ore spiced with ultra tasty Mediterranean spices and herbs. These herbs work perfectly together with the mozzarella and strawberries. These spiced chickpeas make this dish 10x more delicious and even healthier, because you get so many nutrients from them. If you somehow have access to getting those chickpeas, you definitely should! 

Is this dish healthy?

We can definitely say so. As a base we have the strawberries, which are loaded with vitamins and fibre and nutrients. (Btw, did you know, you could eat the green part of the strawberries? It still blows my mind). Then we have got the chickpeas, which also are an amazing source of protein and fibre. So they‘ll keep you full and happy and help your digestion. And then, not to forget about the mozzarella; it is rather high in fat, that needs to be said, but also in protein. The olive oil accounts for some unsaturated, healthy fats and the basil for some extra nutrients. All in all, pretty healthy! 

How to make this dish? 

This is beyond easy. Really. All we need to do is wash and slice the strawberries, chop the mozzarella and toss with the chickpeas, basil, oil and vinegar. Yup, that’s all. Then we only need to pack it for our picnic 🙂

Meal prep friendly?

Definitely! Otherwise it would not be a great picnic dish would it? You can store it in the fridge – even for a day if you want. This actually intensifies the flavors because the juices of the strawberries will run out and combine with the mozzarella.

This definitely is one of the easiest and most delicious meals you could make. It is amazing for those hot summer days when you just want a quick lunch, but also for warm and sunny picnics in the park! I hope you‘ll really enjoy this and have an amazing time picnicing! 

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The Easiest 10 Minute Strawberry and Chickpea Caprese

Easy to make, super quick, super refreshing and super delicious! Really, this is next level and not your average caprese (much better!). The strawberries and an amazing sweet-summery twist to it and all in all it is super delicious! A must make!

Course Appetizer, picnic, Salad
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten

What you will need

  • 1 package NENI Kichererbsen Salat mit frischen Kräutern
  • 250 g strawberries
  • 1 Package mozzarella cheese (around 120-150g)
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 1 handful greens (such as baby spinach)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

How to

  1. Wash the strawberries and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a bowl along with the chickpeas, the mozzarella, the olive oil and the finely chopped basil. Give it a good mix, then divide onto bowls.

  2. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and serve with fresh basil! Enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière