Tossed with hearty greens, rich hazelnuts, and salty ricotta salata, this quick vegetarian dinner comes together in about 20 minutes. In spring you can take advantage of fresh peas, and the rest of the year you can use thawed frozen peas, either way this meal will be a fresh, light favorite!
Bring a medium sauce pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the pappardelle and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender (follow package instructions for cooking time). Drain the pappardelle, reserving ¼ cup pasta cooking water. Return the pappardelle to the pot; drizzle with 1 to 2 teaspoons oil and toss to keep the noodles from sticking.
Peel and finely chop enough shallots to measure ¼ cup
Zest and juice the lemon, keeping the zest and juice separate.
Strip the parsley leaves from the stems; coarsely chop the leaves.
Using the bottom of a bowl or cup, lightly crush the hazelnuts for garnish.
Grate Parmesan
In a large frying pan over medium heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the shallots and as many chile flakes as you like, season generously with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots start to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach is just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the pappardelle, reserved pasta cooking water, lemon zest, and parsley.
Remove from the heat and stir in half the Parmesan, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons butter or 1 tablespoon olive oil. (Set aside the remaining Parmesan for serving.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Transfer the pappardelle to individual bowls, crumble the ricotta salata over the top, and garnish with the hazelnuts. Serve the remaining Parmesan on the side.