PASTA DISHES

                                               

 

 

A few years ago I had written a post called “The Illustrious Pasta”, here are a few more recipes for pasta.

 

                                  SPAGHETTI WITH TOMATOES AND CRISPY CAPERS

                                                 

125 ml ( ½ cup) olive oil

¼ cup capers, soaked in water of very salty, then drained and patted dry

¼ cup cornflour

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled

60 g (2 oz) thinly sliced prosciutto

2 tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

½ tsp crushed red pepper

1 tbsp thinly sliced basil

500 g (1 lb) spaghetti

Freshly grated Parmesan or San Mihalis

 

Sprinkle the capers with cornflour and transfer them to a sieve and shake off the excess cornflour.  Fry the coated capers in olive oil for 3 minutes until crisp and golden and place on kitchen paper to drain.  Reserve 1 tbsp of the oil.

 

Sauté the anchovies and garlic in olive oil, until the garlic is golden and the anchovies dissolve about 3 minutes.  Add the prosciutto, separating the ribbons, and cook for 1 minute.   Add the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook until the tomatoes start to break down, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the basil.

 

Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti in salted water until “al dente“, drain and reserve ½ cup of cooking liquid.  Return the pasta to the pot and pour in the reserved water and the tomato sauce.

 

Serve the pasta in bowls garnished with capers, drizzled with re reserved oil and sprinkled with grated cheese.

 

 

                   FETTUCCINE WITH SHRIMP WITH COURGETTES AND BASIL

500 g (1 lb) medium-sized shrimp, shelled. deveined, shells reserved

500 ml (2 cups) water

1 celery stalk, threaded

1 carrot, scraped and thinly sliced

Salt

500 g (1 lb) fettuccine

5 tbsp olive oil

500 g (1 lb) courgettes, scraped and sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

¼ cup tomato sauce

10 large basil leaves, coarsely torn into pieces

1 tsp very finely chopped fresh oregano

½ crushed red pepper

 

In a small saucepan cover the shrimp shells with water.  Add the sliced celery and carrot and boil for 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced to 1 cup.  Strain the shrimp stock through a fine sieve into a bowl pressing with a spoon to extract all the juices and season with salt.

 

Boil the fettuccine in salted water until “al dente”, drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Sprinkle the pasta with olive oil.

 

Sauté the courgettes in olive oil and the garlic and continue cooking until the courgettes  begin to brown, about 5 minutes.  And the shrimp stock, fettuccine, shrimps, tomato sauce herbs, and the remaining olive oil.  Add the crushed pepper and cook until the shrimps are pink about 2 minutes.  Add the pasta and season generously with salt and pepper.

 

 

                                               CREAM CHEESE PASTA

500 g (1 lb) pasta of your choice

1 container of cream cheese

3 tbsp of grated Parmesan

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tsp chili flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Boil the pasta in salted water until “al dente”, then strain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid.  Sauté the garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add the cream cheese, the pasta cooking water, and the grated Parmesan and stir well together.  Add the pasta into the cheese mixture and toss until well combined and add more pasts water, if necessary.

 

 

 

                     SPAGHETTI WITH GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL (AGLIO E OLIO)

500 g spaghetti

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced

½ tsp chilli flakes

Salt to taste

 Grated Parmesan and

Chopped parsley

 

Boil the spaghetti in salted water until “al dente” and drain.  Meanwhile sauté the garlic and chilli in olive oil.  Add the spaghetti to the garlic chili mixture and stir well together.

 

Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and chopped parsley. 

 

 

                                LEMON RICOTTA PASTA WITH SPINACH

500 g (1 lb) spaghetti

Ricotta

Parmesan

250 g ( ½ lb) baby spinach

Lemon juice to taste

60 g (2 oz) butter

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

125 g ( ¼ lb) ricotta

Freshly grated San Mihalis or pecorino

Salt, freshly ground black pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste

 

Cook the pasta in salted water until “al dente”, drain and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.  Cook the spinach until wilted and allow to cool.  Squeeze the liquid from the spinach and chop roughly.

 

Sauté the spinach, garlic, cooked pasta, and a splash of cooking water for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, adding more water if necessary.  Stir in the ricotta and simmer while mixing with 2 forks to break it up. 

 

Season with grated nutmeg, pecorino, and salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.     

    

    

(I wish to thank various cookery books and Getty images for the photos for this post)