Cottage cheese becomes sauce when you warm it with pasta water and black pepper. This shelf gives you ranch flavoured curds that need only egg noodles and butter to become a weeknight dinner for two.

Serves 2. 20 minutes, 15 at the stove.

About 770 calories a serving, 42 g protein, 103 g carbohydrate, 25 g fat. From USDA figures for 100% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

Cook mode

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook 6 ounces egg noodles until tender, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.8 min
2. While the noodles cook, scoop the cottage cheese into a large bowl and warm it gently over a double boiler or in a microwave for 1 minute, stirring once. Add 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.1 min
3. Toss the hot noodles with 2 tablespoons butter until coated, then fold in the warm cottage cheese sauce with 2 tablespoons pasta water. Add more pasta water as needed until the sauce coats the noodles and flows slightly. Taste and season with salt.

Note Swap in bow ties or shells if you have them. Leftovers keep three days chilled. Serve with a raw vegetable salad or pickled vegetables on the side to cut the richness.