
Harissa, mascarpone and basil rigatoni
- Published: 2 Apr 24
- Updated: 26 Jul 24
This speedy, veggie pasta has just six ingredients but heavily delivers on fiery, creamy goodness. It’s a winner for a weeknight, giving you less time in front of the stove and more time to relax. We can’t stop making it!

Find all our weekly pasta recipes here.
Ingredients
- 200g dried rigatoni or tortiglioni pasta
- 100g mascarpone
- 1 tbsp harissa (see Tips)
- 3 basil sprigs, leaves picked
- Squeeze lemon juice
- Finely grated parmesan (or vegetarian equivalent) to serve
Method
- Bring a saucepan of heavily salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes (depending on how al dente you like it).
- While the pasta cooks, put the mascarpone and harissa in a large heatproof bowl and sit it over the pasta pan (like a bain-marie). Stir to combine – the steam will gently heat the sauce without splitting it.
- Drain the pasta, transfer to the bowl of sauce and stir to coat evenly. Tear and fold in the basil leaves, then season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Divide between bowls and top with more basil and a good grating of cheese.
- Recipe from March 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 415kcals
- Fat
- 26g (16g saturated)
- Protein
- 10g
- Carbohydrates
- 34g (2.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.2g
- Salt
- 0.3g
delicious. tips
If you’re fancying something a little meatier with that same fiery heat, switch out the harissa for the same quantity of ’nduja paste.
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Quick and very simple but still full of flavour,ideal for a midweek meal