ST. PETERSURG, Fla. — Il Ritorno celebrates the seasons with new menus. This spring, owner and Chef David Benstock is offering a vegetarian pasta — light and flavorful, thanks to fresh citrus and wild-foraged morel mushrooms.

Spring Cavatelli

Ingredients

• 1 serving spinach pasta
• Handful morel mushrooms
• 3 ounces mushroom stock (see below)
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• Juice from half a lemon
• 2 ounces fresh garbanzo beans
• Garnished pickled shallots (see below)
• Garnished crispy ricotta salata (see below)
• Garnished preserved lemon

Mushrooms stock

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound mushrooms
• 1/4 cup shallots
• 2 tablespoons garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher slats
• 5 sprigs thyme

Directions

1. Sauce 1/4 cup of shallots and 2 tablespoons of mushrooms in olive oil.
2. Add 1 pound sliced mushrooms, and five sprigs of thyme.
3. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, put the heat on low and cover.
4. After about 10 minutes, the natural juice will extract from the mushrooms.
5. Reserve the natural mushroom juice for the sauce.

Pickled Shallots

Ingredients

1. 1 shallot, diced
2. 1 cup red wine vinegar

Directions

Put all ingredients in a bowl together and let sit overnight.

Toasted Ricotta Salata

Ingredients

• 1/2-pound ricotta salata

Directions

1. Microplane the ricotta onto a sheet tray, and bake at 325 degrees until golden brown.
2. Crumble in hand.

To assemble the entire cavatelli dish

1. Sauté a handful of morel mushrooms in olive oil, and add 1 tbsp garlic.
2. Once cooked add, 3 ounces of the mushrooms stock.
3. Cook your cavatelli pasta in boiling water until it has a little bite, and add to your sauté pan with mushrooms.
4. Reduce down until all the liquid has absorbed into the pasta.
5. Finish with fresh garbanzo beans and lemon juice.
6. Plate your pasta in a bowl, and top with our toasted ricotta, pickled shallots and preserved lemons.