Linguine with Sage-Walnut Butter and Herbed Ricotta

The best meals in our house start with really inspiring raw ingredients. And this dish was born from opening the fridge and going: oh my god, how do I get that into my mouth??? and... I want to eat that- Right now! I also have to say, it is one of the few dishes that is truly an amalgam recipe- it is partly based on a recipe from the cookbook 'A Year in the Vegetarian Kitchen', partly based on a recipe from the internet- and partly based on my own sense of what would be tasty.


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh, not that polly-o shiz, real-deal Ricotta
3/4 box Linguine (or make your own... that would be excellent)
Rosemary, chopped
Basil Leave
Sage Leaves, chopped
Parsley, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese
carmelized onions (if you have some lying around... as I was lucky enough to!) or a shallot
garlic- a few cloves (poached, or raw)
1/2 stick butter
chopped walnuts
lemon

Directions

1. Drain the ricotta in a sieve in the sink. Let sit for a while.

2. Prep every fresh herb you can find in your kitchen- I think I omitted the basil, but added chive, and thyme to the mix- and chop them as finely as you can. Mix the herbs into the ricotta cheese, and salt and pepper the cheese to taste. Grate some parmesan cheese into the ricotta, and mix in. Set aside. Try not to eat all of it while you cook. Save a few sage leaves for later.

3. Put the water for the pasta on to boil. Salt it well.

4. While the pasta water boils, either smash the poached garlic in the bottom of a skillet with some olive oil, OR sweat the raw shallot and garlic over low heat in the olive oil for as long as you can stand it, and until they are very fragrant and translucent.

5. Then, melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. When the butter is fragrant, add the remaining sage and walnuts to the butter, and continue cooking it until it smells incredible. Splash some lemon on it.

6. Drain the pasta, reserving the water. Add the pasta to the skillet with the butter sauce, adding some pasta water to moisten as needed, and stir to coat. If using carmelized onion, mix those in at the last minute. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

7. Serve the pasta in the sauce with a large dollop of the herbed ricotta on top.