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Favourite pasta dishes

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby scullion » Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:51 pm

one of my kids favourites when they were small was fusilli with peas and thinly sliced, vegetarian hot dog sausages and with roulé or herby boursin mixed in to coat.
i rather like finely chopped mushrooms and onion, fried with garlic then mixed in to tagliatelle or pappardelle with cream cheese (philly type) and black pepper.
one i had at zizzi in 'the nham' was tagliatelle with mushrooms, pine nuts, garlic and baby spinach wilted in at the end (plus seasoning).

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Suelle » Thu Jan 07, 2021 4:38 pm

In the summer I add sautéed courgettes to pasta carbonara.

I like this recipe for pasta with sausages and broccoli too: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... en-in-rome

I tried Pizzoccheri when on holiday in Northern Italy in 2019, and have tried to reconstruct it myself - it's buckwheat pasta, potatoes and cabbage with a lot of good melting cheese, butter and sage. Double carb-ing is OK for this - use half of each to make up one total amount ie 35g of pasta instead of 70g per portion and one small potato instead of 2.

Another double carb recipe is Delia Smith's Pasta Liguria - pasta, new potatoes, green beans and pesto.

Cooking for one, and eating a low carb diet means I usually alter the proportions of any recipe to reduce the pasta and increase the vegetables. It's not always successful though. I tried the recipe that Nigella did recently on TV - pasta (plus a small amount of potato) with 'nduja and kale - and reducing the pasta really unbalanced the dish to it's detriment. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gian ... with_53792
Traditional home baking, and more:
http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Suffs » Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:09 pm

Another treat here is pasta with chicken livers
https://www.eatout.co.za/recipe/antonio ... ver-pasta/

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:21 pm

I was thinking of making up a big veggie lasagne to portion and freeze, as it’s a handy standby

I make all the usual quick and easy suspects - carbonara, puttanesca, broccoli and anchovy, prawns, Amatriciana (bacon, onion, tomato, garlic, chilli), pesto with or without a lot of other veg - froze home made pesto in the summer for when it’s the main thing but I’ll use Sacla to spike other things

Spag bol of course - but the sauce quite often goes into lasagne or a baked pasta, speaking of which macaroni cheese which often gets lightened with cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, or leek.

And Marlena Spieler’s Orzo with Greek Island Flavours, though I prefer a slightly larger shape to bite into - recipe no longer on line but it’s pretty much what you’d expect given evoo, garlic, tomato, spinach (frozen is fine), allspice, oregano and feta; I think it varies a bit when I make it

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Seatallan » Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:33 pm

Talking of home made pesto, I'm dreaming of the days (not so long away) when the wild garlic is ready to pick for pesto. Love wild garlic pesto stirred through pasta... :yum
Food, felines and fells (in no particular order)

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Badger's Mate » Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:43 pm

We have some seasonal pasta dishes here. At the mo the regular one is bacon and parsnip with Pecorino, which can be googled as JO's parsnip, pancetta and Parmesan tagliatelle. In the autumn we had a little glut of Romanesco, regularly turned into Sicilian pasta, not unlike KK's but with the addition of raisins, pine nuts and a breadcrumb topping. I saw it on a Rick Stein programme. Late spring is the time for prawn & asparagus linguine (from Falling Cloudberries) and in the summer a simple tomato spaghetti from the same book.

Another favourite here is from the old Sainsbury's booklet Pasta Italian Style; sausage and carrot macaroni.

ETA

I suppose Youvetsi (lamb and tomato stew with orzo) must count as a pasta dish.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Amyw » Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:14 pm

Nice ideas Badgers Mate.

Sue I really cauli/macaroni cheese . I find it lightens up quite a stodgy dish and I usually add the finely chopped stalks and leaves too

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby MagicMarmite » Thu Jan 07, 2021 6:29 pm

Without hesitation, carbonara.
I also love spag or tag with bacon, black olives, pesto and cream, which came from a Sainsburys recipe card many years ago.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Kacey » Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:03 pm

We have pasta usually a couple of times a week, our favourites are pasta with:-
Chickpeas with garlic and lemon
Chickpeas with garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley
Fennel, lentils and halloumi
Fennel and peas
Cauliflower in spicy tomato sauce
Arrabbiata sauce and steamed broccoli
'Cheats' lasagne
Potatoes, green beans and pesto
Ottolenghi's pasta with peas, basil, yogurt and feta
Something I call 'fridge' pasta - usually onion, garlic along with whatever I need to use up such as peppers, courgettes, tomatoes, along with a tin or jar of artichokes.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Earthmaiden » Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:13 pm

With a couple of exceptions, every dish mentioned on this thread sounds heavenly.

My most memorable meal ever (sublimely delicious as well as happy circumstances) was linguini with scallops in a garlic cream sauce in the USA. Out of this world.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby OneMoreCheekyOne » Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:17 pm

We make lots of those mentioned or variations of. Some new ideas I’ll try too.

A couple not already mentioned which we love are smoked salmon and vodka pasta with peas and cream (add extras such as spinach, fennel, parmesan if you like).

Also duck and chianti lasagne (or pappardelle)...make the ragu in advance using slow roasted duck legs.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Jan 08, 2021 12:52 am

Mistakened:
You´ve just reminded me of another glorious pasta dish : Alla Primavera.
Asparagus tips, fresh peas, green beans, julienned courgettes, julienned red pepper. fry them up with a bit of garlic and olive oyl, then add cream to bring the flavours together.
Great with a sauvignon blanc.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby ZeroCook » Fri Jan 08, 2021 8:04 am

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Some great pasta stuff on here.

Big on pasta. Also fan of wholemeal pasta, often spaghetti, fresh fettuccine, penne. Pasta dishes and sauces for me are often about using what's lying around kitchen, pantry, freezer, whats in season, what needs using, what's leftover or to hand or in the garden or wild.

I have a bulb of fennel that needs using, and a squash, pancetta, some feta, dried rosemary and sage from Spain. Toasted walnuts. Penne or casserecce. Or perhaps make ravioli.

Spaghetti al Pomodoro. Super plain. Beautiful. Fragrant. Add in morsels like prosciutto, fresh or dried mushrooms (think dried soaked porcini or morels) while cooking, or bits of fish (fresh tuna is good) or shellfish.

Have never been a big fan of standard Spag Bol, and go the classic Ragu Bolognese route which is different, gentler and more subtle than Spag Bol. I have a couple of tweaks (of course :D ). I'm not a milk fan, so I leave it out, use water or light stock and add a tablespoon of double cream instead. I also add passata as well as the usual tomato puree. Onions,celery,carrots, (I blitz them), pancetta, softened gently in EVOO, no garlic, minced meat of choice - not much, herbs, black pepper, red wine, tomato puree - not too much, passata, cream, water or stock, simmer long, low and slow for at least an hour and a half. Wholemeal spaghetti or fresh homemade wholemeal fettuccine and grated Asiago or sharp cheese of preference on top.

Have been looking a lot at River Cafe Pocket Books: Pasta and Ravioli. Highly recommended.


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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Kacey » Fri Jan 08, 2021 9:00 am

The pasta with potatoes and beans I do was originally River Cafe's Silk Handkerchiefs and Green Bean recipe. I've just ordered a second hand copy of the pasta pocket book along with the salad and veg one, not bad at less than £7 for both, delivered. Thanks ZC

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Pampy » Fri Jan 08, 2021 2:12 pm


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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby ZeroCook » Fri Jan 08, 2021 6:07 pm

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I make RC Penne with Zucchini and Ricotta often.
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pen ... nd-ricotta
- originally from another RC book and double the pasta than the revised version which is better imo.

Metric quantities from revised version below. I use a couple or three tablespoons of good basil pesto if I don't have fresh or just because.

350g Penne, 1kg Small zucchini, trimmed of stalks and tips, Extra virgin olive oil, 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced, 350g Ricotta, 3 tbs Roughly chopped basil 100g Parmesan, freshly grated, .

Kacey, you'll love the RC pocket book which is full of great and surprising ingredient combos and cooking methods :D .


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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Gillthepainter » Sat Jan 09, 2021 9:46 am

Or perhaps make ravioli.

Always a gentle way to spend an afternoon., Zero I tend to serve it with a caper sauce, and make a mushroom filling sometimes. But not often enough, I grant you.

More beautiful pasta dishes, thank you. I confess I've never thought of having potatoes with a pasta. That's new for me unless thinking about gnocchi which I adore.

Pampy, this looks rather lovely: https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recip ... yme-recipe

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Pampy » Sat Jan 09, 2021 3:50 pm

That looks just up my street, Gill!

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby Wic » Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:37 pm

Last night we had pasta with pesto, which is one of our favourites, and because I had one, I cubed an avocado into it. I don’t know why I’ve never done that before, it went from the usual 'really nice' to exceptional.

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Re: Favourite pasta dishes

Postby KeenCook2 » Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:43 pm

Delicious, with the avo! Lovely idea!
Was that basil pesto, wic? We make pesto with different green leaves such as rocket, kale or spinach, or other herbs such as coriander etc.

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