Pasta with Carrots and Cheese cream

                           Pasta con crema di Carote e Formaggio
Hello! After a short break here I am!
Did you know there are dozens of different pasta shapes in Italy? Well, for this recipe I use Casarecce because this kind of pasta shape retains the sauce and the dish that comes out is amazing good! Although for us it represents a first course, you can serve it as a main dish because it is complete, it has a bit of everything— carbohydrates, protein, vegetables. Buon appetito!

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: about 15 minutes
Class: economy, healthy

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
5-6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
A bunch of sage leaves
3 oz. (80 g) cream cheese
½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
Salt, about  ½ tsp. + 1 tbsp.
8 cups (2 L) water
½ lb. (approximately 250 g) Casarecce pasta
 
Method:
1.     Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the shallot and sauté. Add the carrots and sage, cover and let cook for 10 minutes or until tender.
2.     Then remove from the pan about 3 tbsp. of carrots to use as garnish and set aside. Add the cream cheese, heavy cream and ½ tsp. of salt to the pan; mix well and let cook another 2-3 minutes or until the cream cheese melts. At this point, with an immersion blender, blend all the ingredients, reducing them to a thick puree. Then, taste the sauce and add more salt if needed.
3.     Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tbsp. of salt. Add the pasta and boil, stirring often, until al dente. Drain the pasta and transfer to the pan with the carrots and cheese cream. Let cook together another 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Then, add the reserved carrots and mix well. Serve immediately.