Pasta with Tomato Sauce and Fresh Ricotta

I will admit, this dish does not look amazing. But it is. You gotta trust me. This isn't a recipe, but the idea was inspired by Twist of the Wrist.

First, you procure some really good tomato sauce. Then you find some amazing fresh ricotta. Make your own (as I did) or go to your area's Little Italy and buy some (NO Polly-O please).

Now, time for dinner. Heat up your sauce (about 2 1/2 cups). Boil up some capellini (a pound) and when it's cooked al dente, toss it with the sauce. Not too much sauce please. See in the picture? The sauce is the condiment, not the meal. Now put a large spoonful of the fresh ricotta on top. Garnish with basil if you'd like - that is purple basil in the picture.

As you eat, twirl some pasta up on your fork, catching some ricotta in the strands.

This seems like it shouldn't be such a big deal, but to me this dish is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. You must use good ricotta, but you can probably get away with good, bottled pasta sauce. This will not work with cheap-o ricotta and fancy-pants pasta.