Pasta with arugula (rocket) and ricotta

I have seen several varistions on this recipe in different cookbooks, but had never gotten around to trying it until last night, when I was determined to cook only from ingredients that I had on hand. To my pleasant surprise, this dish turned out to be a real winner, combining lovely textures and flavours and delivering plenty of substance without too much fat.

Ingredients:
~1 cup (8 oz) cooked pasta
~1 large clove of garlic, finely diced
~5 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
~juice of half a lemon
~dash of tabasco
~1/4 teaspoon (two pinches) smokey paprika
~splash of white wine (1-2 tablespoons or 1 oz)
~1/2 cup (4 oz) coarsely chopped fresh rocket leaves (stems removed)
~1/4 cup (2 oz) ricotta (not the smooth kind)
~1 tablespoon (1/2 oz) fresh grated parmesan (the better the quality of parmesan, the better this dish will taste)

Method:
In a sautee pan, gently fry the garlic in a good sploosh of olive oil, until just softened. Add the olives, lemon, tabasco, paprika and white wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow sauce to come to a simmer and turn off the heat. Add the pasta, rocket, ricotta and parmesan, and fold through the sauce. Leave the pan on the burner and continue slowly turning the dish until the rocket wilts and the parmesan softens.

Serve immediately. Serves 1 as a main course, or two as a starter. Calories per main course serve: approximately 350. To reduce the calories, use low fat ricotta and omit the olives and olive oil. To increase the calories, increase the portion size, or serve with a lean grilled chicken tenderloin shredded ontop of the pasta.

Serve this dish with a white wine – something on the sweet side will offset the lemon and tabasco in the sauce. A wonderful Seminon Sauvingon Blanc, such as the one from Stella Bella in Margaret River, would be a perfect accompaniment