Category: Pasta

Delicious and easy pasta recipes

Bowtie pasta with salmon

Pasta with Salmon

Posted on by

Pasta with salmon is a delicious pasta dish with salmon, sundried tomatoes, and capers. You can either use fresh or canned salmon, or smoked salmon, which is what I prefer. If you don’t have heavy cream, you can either use milk or cream cheese (for a tangy, creamier consistency). I also like to use short pasta, and sundried tomatoes that have been preserved in olive oil.

Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients

1/2 lb penne, rigatoni or farfalle pasta
1 T olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3-4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
5 oz tomato sauce (or to your liking)
1-2 T heavy cream or cream cheese
4 oz smoked salmon with dill, broken up into bite-size pieces
2 tsp capers
salt, to taste

  1. in a large pot, cook the pasta according to directions on box, drain, and set aside.
  2. in a large pan, sauté shallot in olive oil until a little translucent, then add the garlic, stirring.
  3. add sundried tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring so as not to burn.
  4. add cream or cream cheese and stir until completely mixed.
  5. add salmon and stir.
  6. add capers and salt to taste.
  7. throw in the pasta and stir until coated, being careful not to break up the salmon any more.
  8. sprinkle with parsley or chopped scallion on pasta with salmon before serving.

Subscribe to my blog so that you don’t miss anything!

Pasta With Cannellini Beans and Gorgonzola

Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Gorgonzola

Posted on by

Pasta with white cannellini beans, known as pasta fagioli in Italian (or pasta fasul in dialect), and gorgonzola cheese is a very filling and flavorful dish. It contains lots of protein and fiber so not only is it a comfort food but it’s also good for you!

I usually make it when I have no idea what to make after days upon days of eating meat, fish, tomato sauce, etc. I use either medium shell pasta or orecchiette, but any short pasta will do. This recipe calls for gorgonzola cheese, but you can use any blue cheese or even Feta cheese. I also like to use Progresso brand White Cannellini Kidney because they are tasty.

Fresh Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Posted on by

Spaghetti alla carbonara is probably my favorite pasta dish. It has such simple ingredients – eggs, pancetta, butter – yet it is so rich and tasty. I love it made with fresh pasta because the pasta is more tender when you bite into it and the carbonara sauce clings better to it, whereas the dry pasta can be a little slippery and the sauce slides right off of it.

Homemade Lasagna

Lasagna

Posted on by

This is a recipe for delicious homemade lasagna. It takes a while to put together, especially if you don’t have tomato sauce that’s already made, but it’s worth it! I sometimes use oven-ready lasagne when I’m in a hurry. I know it’s a sacrilege(!) to Italians but sometimes I just don’t have the time to boil regular lasagne sheets.

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie

Posted on by

Ever cook so much food because you thought everyone was going to eat Sunday dinner with you since you hardly ever see them anymore, but you end up having all these leftovers? Here is a good recipe for leftover spaghetti that is easy to make.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 c. tomato sauce
12 oz. cooked spaghetti
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Butter the bottom and sides of a shallow baking pan.
  3. Cook beef, garlic, and onion in a sauté pan over medium heat until meat is brown.
  4. Drain the fat.
  5. Stir tomato sauce into meat mixture. Set aside.
  6. In a bowl combine spaghetti, Parmesan cheese and eggs. Mix well. Pour into the buttered pan and spread evenly across the bottom.
  7. Spread ricotta or cottage cheese over the spaghetti mixture.
  8. Pour meat sauce mixture over ricotta cheese. Spread carefully; do not mix.
  9. Sprinkle mozzarella over the meat mixture.
  10. Bake at 350° about 20 minutes until hot and set. Do not overbake.

Join my mailing list to receive more posts like this!

Top photo credit: John @Flickr.com

Pasta alla Caprese

Pasta alla Caprese (with pesto, tomatoes, and mozzarella)

Posted on by

Here is a simple but tasty pasta recipe for when you have to cook dinner in a hurry or are just not in the mood for anything fancy.

Serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients
1 box (1 lb.) of penne pasta, or any other short pasta
4 small tomatoes, cubed
2 c of fresh mozzarella, cubed
4 T pesto sauce
salt to taste

1. cook pasta, drain and reserve some water (in case the pasta is too dry).
2. add tomatoes and mozzarella to the hot pot that you used to cook the pasta in to warm them up a bit.
3. throw pasta and pesto sauce into the pot and mix well.
4. add salt to taste.

If the pasta is too dry, add some of the reserved water a little bit at a time.

Pasta with shrimp and pesto

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Pesto

Posted on by

Here is a delicious recipe for using leftover pesto.

When cooking shrimp, do not leave unattended because shrimp does not take long to cook. You do not want to overcook it because it will end up being dry with a hard, stringy texture.

I also like to boil the shells to make a broth and add it to the shrimp in place of the chicken broth or fish stock. It adds a wonderful taste to it without overpowering the flavor.

Ingredients        serves 4 to 6 people

1 lb angel hair or spaghetti pasta
25-30 fresh or frozen large (31/40) shrimp, peeled and de-veined; leave whole or cut them up into smaller pieces
1 T olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp dry thyme
2 T pesto sauce (or according to your taste)
1 T bread crumbs
1 c of chicken broth or fish stock
capers, according to your taste
salt, to taste

    1. 1. In a large sauté pan, sauté shallot in olive oil until translucent.
      2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. When draining, reserve about 1 cup of the water – I use this water if the shrimp becomes too dry while cooking or if it looks too dry when mixing the shrimp with pasta at the end. Set aside when done.
      3. Add shrimp to the pan and cook until it starts to turn pink.
      4. Add thyme.
      5. When shrimp become completely pink (don’t let it burn!), add pesto sauce, capers, and broth and cook until the broth is reduced.
      6. Add pasta to the shrimp and mix, making sure the broth thoroughly covers the pasta. If it looks too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.
      7. Serve with a little bit of fresh parsley sprinkled over it. You can also drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.

Subscribe to my blog to receive more posts like this delivered right to your inbox!

Angel hair pasta with shrimp and capers

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Capers

Posted on by

When cooking shrimp, do not leave unattended because shrimp does not take long to cook. You do not want to overcook it because it will end up being dry with a hard, stringy texture.

I also like to boil the shells to make a broth and add it to the shrimp in place of the chicken broth or fish stock. It adds a wonderful taste to it without overpowering the flavor.

serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients

1 lb angel hair pasta
25-30 fresh or frozen large (31/40) shrimp, peeled and de-veined; leave whole or cut them up into smaller pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 Tbsp (or more) chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp butter
Splash of dry white wine
2 tsp capers
1 Tbsp bread crumbs
1 cup of chicken broth or fish stock
extra virgin olive oil
celery salt to taste

      1. In a large sauté pan, sauté shallot and garlic until garlic is golden brown.
      2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. When draining, reserve about 1 cup of the water – I use this water if the shrimp becomes too dry while cooking or if it looks to dry when you mix the shrimp with pasta at the end.
      3. Add shrimp and cook until it starts to turn pink.
      4. Add parsley, thyme, lemon juice and butter.
      5. When shrimp become completely pink (don’t let it burn!), add white wine, capers and broth and cook until the broth and wine are reduced.
      6. Drain pasta; add pasta to the shrimp and mix, making sure the broth thoroughly covers the pasta. If it looks too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.
      7. Serve with a little bit of fresh parsley sprinkled over it. You can also drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.