recipes that are pasta based
Spaghetti with Sour Cream and Chanterelles is really a vegetarian version of Spaghetti alla Carbonara, replacing the frizzled pancetta with mushrooms. Pancetta traditionally add crunch and saltiness, but I think my version is more subtle…But I suppose I would say that.
Serves 2
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: *
Origin: Italy
Good with: works really well with fresh spaghetti.
Fattening, artery-clogging, difficult and fiddly, time-consuming, 1980’s retro! Why should anyone want to prepare Pumpkin Ravioli? Well, because it tastes absolutely sensational! Especially if you go the whole hog, and make your own Fresh Pasta and Vegetable Stock.
Serve it to friends or family, and your reputation as a cook will sky-rocket…
Serves 2
Time: 3 weeks (more seriously, allow at least 4 hours)
Difficulty: *****
Origin: International
Good with: a crisp salad with plenty of red onion.
Deceptively simple, Pasta in Olive Sauce packs loads of Mediterranean flavour! I always make sure I keep the basic ingredients in my store cupboard, so if I need to prepare something in a hurry, I’m good to go.
Serves 2
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: *
Origin: Italy
Good with: a crisp salad with plenty of red onion.
I am not in general a great believer in creating vegetarian versions of ‘meat’ classics, but with this Vegetarian Spaghetti Bolognese I make an unapologetic exception. The character of a good Bolognese Sauce lies in a deep and rich tomato sauce. This is traditionally flavoured with minced beef, although in rural areas of Italy whatever meat is available is used: mutton, goat, horse meat, donkey meat…
I use portobello mushrooms instead. However, tomatoes and mushrooms are not natural bedfellows in my opinion, so do not be tempted to overdo the mushroom-ness. Use vegetable stock, and avoid dried mushrooms such as porcini, as these will overpower. Do not be mean with the tomato purée. I also add tomato sauce; I forget now where the idea originally came from deep in the past, but believe me, it adds another dimension of flavour – omit it at your peril!
To make this recipe more substantial, I like to serve it with Salade Nicoise, omitting the salmon.
Serves 2
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: **
Origin: Italy
Good with: Salade Nicoise
The success of Penne with Wild Mushrooms, Asparagus and White Beans has a lot to do with textures. The pasta and the asparagus should be al dente, to contrast with the silkiness of the beans, and the slight chewiness of the mushrooms.
For this I used penne, but any other short pasta, such as farfalle, fusilli or conchigli would do just as well.
Serves 2
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: **
Origin: Italy
Good with: a salad of mixed leaves, rocket, lightly-toasted pine nuts, and finely chopped spring onion.
