Favourite Pasta Dishes

pikachucheeks

I'm a student, so my meals largely consist around pasta

Just looking for some new ideas and recipes!

A favourite of mine is pesto pasta with pine nuts and cherry tomatoes.
Mmm

glaston

Spaghetti alla puttanesca

Heat Olive oil in a pan.
Add garlic
Add anchovies and stir until they have broken up in the oil
Add a can of tomatoes immediately followed by pitted black olives, capers and some basil or parsley.
Mix with spaghetti and serve.

Bon appetit.

Fajitas!

Grab some Fusillini, throw it into boiling water.

In a bowl, throw in some pesto, olive oil, pine nuts, black pepper, parmesan cheese and either finely cut buffallo mozerella or the pearls of it. Some basil, rocket and spinach leaves work wonders too. Chop up some cherry tomatos and throw them in too.

Mix in with cooked pasta for a quite and easy meal.

I've been meaning to give a pasta bake a go too after a recent thread here.

rocknchef

cant beat all the classics, spaghetti bolognese, carbonara, lasagne and on a summers evening prawns in tomato sauce and lemon juice:pac:

oldyouth

Fry some chorizo sausage and add to pasta with some cream and coriander. Happened upon it by accident (drunk) and love it. You can keep the chorizo on standby in the fridge for ages

Dizzyblonde

For my favourite pasta dish I fry bacon pieces, onion, mushrooms and garlic then add tinned tomatoes, basil, salt and black pepper - plus a teaspoon of sugar per tin of tomatoes. I let it reduce and then serve it with tagliatelli. And lots of stinky parmesan grated on top

pikachucheeks

Fajitas! wrote: »

Grab some Fusillini, throw it into boiling water.

In a bowl, throw in some pesto, olive oil, pine nuts, black pepper, parmesan cheese and either finely cut buffallo mozerella or the pearls of it. Some basil, rocket and spinach leaves work wonders too. Chop up some cherry tomatos and throw them in too.

Mix in with cooked pasta for a quite and easy meal.

I've been meaning to give a pasta bake a go too after a recent thread here.

That sounds insanely good!

olaola

Either smokey bacon, creme fraiche, basil and parmesan. Or chorizo in tomato sauce with butter beans. Hahm!

petethebrick

Usually make my own sauces but recently tried a few of the Lloyd Grossman ones as they were on sale in Tesco (1.19!) Have to say they are great, especially the puttanesca. Far superior than the other brands like Roma, Dolmio etc

the beer revolu

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the very idea of a 'pasta bake' is an abomination!?

Why would you want to put cooked pasta and sauce into the oven unless you needed to keep it warm while waiting for a late comer?

Stodgy, dry, stick mess:eek::eek::eek:

antoniosicily

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the very idea of a 'pasta bake' is an abomination!?

Why would you want to put cooked pasta and sauce into the oven unless you needed to keep it warm while waiting for a late comer?

Stodgy, dry, stick mess:eek::eek::eek:

you don't fully cook the pasta in the pot, you just cook it for 5 minutes and then bake it for 15-20 minutes, so it becomes crusty on the top.
It's also useful if you want to add some cheese which will melt (hummmmm)

the beer revolu

antoniosicily wrote: »

you don't fully cook the pasta in the pot, you just cook it for 5 minutes and then bake it for 15-20 minutes, so it becomes crusty on the top.
It's also useful if you want to add some cheese which will melt (hummmmm)

Well, I suppose lasagne is a pasta bake an if done well is fantastic.
My missus did a fantastic beef lasagne with nettles in it recently - fantastic.

My idea of pasta hell......
Cooked pasta spirals, add a can of sweetcorn, a can of tuna, some cream, top with grated red cheddar and breadcrumbs and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Yeuccchhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

Minder

Fusilli pasta with fresh tomatoes, lots of fresh chopped herbs - basil, parsley, chervil, marjoram, oregano, and golden fried garlic breadcrumbs.

Linguine pasta with tinned tuna, garlic, chopped parsley and an emulsion of lemon juice and olive oil.

Penne pasta dressed with a light tomato, garlic and basil sauce, dotted with lots of buffalo mozzerella and loads of parmaesan - then baked until golden and crispy.

Linguine with seafood - light tomato sauce with a glass of white wine, garlic and basil. Lots of different seafood - meaty white fish, prawns, scallop, mussels.

Spaghetti with veal meatballs - veal mince mixed with finely chopped garlic, grated lemon rind and parsley. Made into small meat balls and dropped into a tomato and basil stock sauce with a glass of white wine.

The Sweeper

Put spaghetti on to boil. Flash fry raw king prawns in garlic and oil until just cooked but also a little charred (flash fire them in the pan if you can, without burning the house down). Add a chopped red chili.

Drain the spaghetti, stir through the garlic prawns with chili, add an emulsion of olive oil and lemon juice and dress with chopped parsley to taste.

Eat, making 'snarf snarf' noises (if alone).

the beer revolu

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

Put spaghetti on to boil. Flash fry raw king prawns in garlic and oil until just cooked but also a little charred (flash fire them in the pan if you can, without burning the house down). Add a chopped red chili.

Drain the spaghetti, stir through the garlic prawns with chili, add an emulsion of olive oil and lemon juice and dress with chopped parsley to taste.

Eat, making 'snarf snarf' noises (if alone).

Never really been keen on seafood with pasta but that sounds REALLY good!!!

Toto Wolfcastle

My favourite is penne in a creamy mushroom sauce. Fry some mushrooms and garlic(and smoked bacon too if you want) in butter. Throw in a tablespoon of flour and mix. Add some double cream and cook until in thickens. Grate in loads of parmesan. Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve with more parmesan grated on top.

I used to eat it at least once a week as a student.

baker59

Student Special here (cheaper than chips!)
Pasta and tuna. Simple as.
You can put extras in (onions, ham, bacon, tomatoes, parmisan cheese whatever,) or you can simply drain the pasta and empty in a tin of tuna (with the oil) into the pot, stir while on the hob for a while and bob's your auntie's husband !

Seaneh

I'm with rocknchef on this one.
I make massive ammounts of ragu and then devide and freeze it in 200g protions, i can then defront this if i fancy bolognese or lasange.

Snowie

stuff you need

Black peaper
salt
Garlic
Parmasan chease.
cream
pasta
lardons
Mixed itlain herbs dry or a live your choice...:)
You can buy this all in lidil for under a 7 euros and the pasta will do you more then one dish as will the parasan...

Prep

grate parmasan
Chop chilli (optional )


boil kettle
ad hot water to pan with olive oil and salt place pasta leave to boil

then

place lardons in frying pan do not add oil youve got the fat from the lardon and just leave to fry untill they go crispy if you like them like that if no you can have them resemble baco which ever you prfer...

strain pasta leave to dry

Now get a small pot a glove of garlic or two if you like lots of garlic and crush it stick it not the pot with all the cream season lightly and heat... add your mixed herbs and 2/3rds of your grated cheese leave to boil... when boiled take of the heat let it cool then reboil again and do that another time to.

place pasta on plate or big bowl and poor sauce over and eat:D

Mrs Fed

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the very idea of a 'pasta bake' is an abomination!?

Why would you want to put cooked pasta and sauce into the oven unless you needed to keep it warm while waiting for a late comer?

Stodgy, dry, stick mess:eek::eek::eek:

Well, because that is the way you make pasta al forno, for example. And I can assure it isn't sticky, messy at all.
You should try!

nerdysal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/bakedpennewithricott_91319.shtml

I saw this dish on Something for the Weekend on BBC last Sunday so I haven't had a chance to try it myself but it sounds gorgeous.

My mam also does a really nice pasta dish where she dices a gammon steak and frys it with some onion, garlic mushrooms (and sometimes brocolli). when the pastas cooked add it to the frying pan and stir in some philidelphia cheese- it's gorgeous and so so so simple!

Sparks

Avoiding the sauce for a moment - don't just "stick pasta on to boil".
Rule One - Big pot, lots of water. About a gallon, basicly. Use your stock pot.
Rule Two - No oil in the water. You put oil in the water for one reason only - so you don't get boilovers in smaller pots. See rule one.
Rule Three - After boiling the pasta, drain in a collander and do not rinse under cold water. The bits of starch still on the outside of the pasta are what the sauce sticks to, wash them off and it won't happen. The only time you wash pasta to stop it cooking is when you're going to bake it, like with lasagne or mac-and-cheese.

anewme

This works with spaghetti or linguine.

Dice up a chilli and fry it with a clove of crushed garlic and some diced red onion. In goes a spoonfull of balsamic vinegar and the juice of half a lemon. Set aside.

In the other pan cook the spaghetti and when cooked leave to sit tossed lightly in olive oil.

Mix in one pack of Nolans fresh crabmeath with the chilli and onion mixture. Stir though the pasta. Add extra oil/lemon juice to taste. Grate a wee bit of parmesan on top.

It is delicious.

watna

Like the above, my favourite pasta dish involves chillis.

Chop up 3 large garlic cloves and 2 small red chillis. Fry in a good quantity of olive oil. Pour over cooked spaghetti, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese (I use a good bit because I love parmesan) and mix together.

The easiest meal I make reguarly and one of the tastiest.

Irishrossoblu

Sparks wrote: »

Avoiding the sauce for a moment - don't just "stick pasta on to boil".
Rule Two - No oil in the water. You put oil in the water for one reason only - so you don't get boilovers in smaller pots. See rule one.
quote]

Have to disagree here. Oil in water to stop pasta sticking together. Always put oil in water.

Toto Wolfcastle

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

Have to disagree here. Oil in water to stop pasta sticking together. Always put oil in water.

I only did it once and the oil just sat on top of the water (it is oil after all) and my pasta never sticks together when I don't use oil.

Zangetsu

I'm a disaster in the kitchen but I just managed to scrape together my first 'proper' meal

Diced up half a tomato, qtr of an onion, qtr of a red pepper (think I'll double that next time) and fried it on the pan.

Dumped that on the pasta, added some greens, tin of tuna (without the oil) and grated red chedder then poured on some chilli and tomato pasta sauce over the lot.

I could get used to this cooking business...

Next time I'm gonna add a few chillies and a clove of garlic to the mix, see how it works out!

aoibhebree

the beer revolu wrote: »

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the very idea of a 'pasta bake' is an abomination!?

Why would you want to put cooked pasta and sauce into the oven unless you needed to keep it warm while waiting for a late comer?

Stodgy, dry, stick mess:eek::eek::eek:

Try this - http://www.recipezaar.com/Italian-Style-Tuna-Pasta-Bake-146394 - and you might change your mind!! Soooo good.

I use 400g of tuna steak rather than tuna chunks, real tomatoes rather than canned, and half cheese half breadcrumbs.

the beer revolu

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

Sparks wrote: »

Avoiding the sauce for a moment - don't just "stick pasta on to boil".
Rule Two - No oil in the water. You put oil in the water for one reason only - so you don't get boilovers in smaller pots. See rule one.
quote]

Have to disagree here. Oil in water to stop pasta sticking together. Always put oil in water.

If you have have enough water at a rolling boil, your pasta will not stick.

Purists would argue that the oil will prevent the sauce from coating the pasta properly.

the beer revolu

aoibhebree wrote: »

Try this - http://www.recipezaar.com/Italian-Style-Tuna-Pasta-Bake-146394 - and you might change your mind!! Soooo good.

I use 400g of tuna steak rather than tuna chunks, real tomatoes rather than canned, and half cheese half breadcrumbs.

Thanks for that but a recipe with tinned tuna isn't going to convert me!

The only way I like tuna is fresh and quickly seared on each side.

denat

the beer revolu wrote: »

Irishrossoblu wrote: »

If you have have enough water at a rolling boil, your pasta will not stick.

Purists would argue that the oil will prevent the sauce from coating the pasta properly.

+1 and you don't need to be a purist. I'm a fairly recent pasta convert and I discovered early that adding oil to the pasta water prevents the sauce from sticking. Packs of Roma dried pasta used to (maybe still do) recommend adding oil but I suspect that it was a marketing ploy for their olive oil.

AFAIK, the main reason behind all those different pasta shapes is to effectively transfer the sauce from plate to mouth - certain shapes suit certain sauces. Adding oil to the pasta negates that.

I don't think Italians do it and they should know.

I also found that, for the bolognaise sauce I make, the best pasta shape is fusilli. I've never seen the point in spaghetti but I'm sure it has it's uses for certain sauces.

aoibhebree

the beer revolu wrote: »

Thanks for that but a recipe with tinned tuna isn't going to convert me!

The only way I like tuna is fresh and quickly seared on each side.

I'm a student, I live on pasta and tinned tuna in various combinations!
I s'pose you could try that recipe with your fancy "fresh" tuna ... bet it won't be as nice though :P