10 Perfect pasta dishes to try at home
1st Jan 2015 Recipes
Pasta is the busy cook's friend, it's perfect for midweek family meals, weekend lunches and it also makes a great lunch box dish too. We have ten fabulous pasta recipes to share here today, all of the easy to make, and all of them even tastier to eat…
1. Three cheese and Swiss chard pasta bake cake
Image via Lavender and Lovage
When is a cake not a cake? When it is a pasta cake of course!? When it is a pasta cake of course!
This recipe is a delightful twist on the usual pasta bake, and the "savoury pasta cake" is baked in a cake tin with fresh chard and free-range eggs.
The three cheeses make for a tasty and protein-packed light lunch or supper dish. Serve with seasonal greens or a salad.
2. Clams with pasta and chilli (Vongole)
Image via London Unattached
This easy recipe is not only packed with flavour but is also low in calories, making it perfect for anyone watching their weight.
The best thing about this dish though is that it simply doesn’t look like or taste like diet food. So, this is a dish you could share with friends or family who aren't following a diet too!
3. Rigatoni with Bolognese sauce
Image via Palatable Pastime
This next recipe uses Rigatoni in place of the usual spaghetti; the meaty Bolognese sauce is made in a slow cooker and is delectable when eaten with a glass of red wine.
The sauce is that it is seasoned with thyme and bay instead of the usual Italian herbs such as oregano, basil, or fennel, giving it a more "Gallic" flavour!
4. Pasta in a thyme and oregano infused sauce
Image via Binny's Kitchen
This easy to cook pasta recipe is great for vegetarians and vegans alike and, it's the perfect romantic dish for your other half too.
The recipe is filled with lots of tomato love and aromatic herbs and is absolutely delicious. It is so easy to cook, and yet it's an impressive and hearty meal, which is definitely a win-win.
5. Orzo risotto with mint and British asparagus
Image via Foodie Quine
Here's another veggie pasta dish that is quick and easy to make and showcases seasonal British asparagus.
Orzo pasta simplifies the whole risotto making process while mint, lemon and black pepper enhance the flavour. The dish is finished off to perfection with Parmesan cheese and griddled asparagus.
6. Tortellini pasta bake with sun-dried tomato, pesto and Mozzarella
Image via Lavender and Lovage
This recipe for tortellini pasta bake with sun dried tomato, pesto and Mozzarella is quick and easy to make, and yet it tastes and looks quite sophisticated with a hint of fresh mint mingling with the sun-dried tomato pesto tomato sauce and the aubergine tortellini.
And, the great thing about this recipe is that it can be pre-prepared to the baking stage, covered, and kept in the fridge, ready to pop in the oven when you are ready to eat!
7. Chorizo, butternut squash macaroni cheese
Image via Farmer's Girl Kitchen
This chorizo butternut squash macaroni cheese looks phenomenal! It elevates the humble Mac'n'Cheese to another level, is packed full of flavour, and it’s hard to believe that the sauce is made with butternut squash.
The added rich and spicy flavour of the chorizo really makes it the ultimate comfort food. Perfect for all the family.
8. Easy umami roasted cauliflower pasta
Image via Kellie's Food to Glow
A stunning dish that uses the once much-maligned cauliflower. This easy recipe is simple and yet it uses quality ingredient such as plump olives, almonds and olive oil to enhance its good looks and taste!
If you fancy, make twice as much of the umami cauliflower, adding it to leftover or pre-cooked quinoa or freekeh for a most unusual and satisfying brown bag lunch.
9. Salmon, bacon and Fennel lumaconi
Image via Bealleau Kitchen
Lumaconi are large snail shaped pasta shells, that are designed to be stuffed and they hold a sauce with large pieces in it very well.
This is a bit of a left-over dish, using cooked salmon and crispy bacon, as well as some fresh fennel for an aniseed kick.
Serve with a little fresh thyme sprinkled on top and maybe a little grated cheese for a decadent pasta dish.
10. The Big Bang Theory "Beefaroni" pasta bake
Image via Lavender and Lovage
This famous tinned pasta product by Chef Boyardee is basically macaroni cheese with beef! But, it's also a VERY popular family recipe that is made at home too.
It's made with five main staple ingredients—minced beef, onions, passata (or chopped tomatoes), cheese and macaroni, and was made famous again by Raj on the sitcom, The Big Bang Theory.
Karen Burns-Booth is a freelance Recipe Developer, Food and Travel Writer and is a member if the Guild of Food Writers. She writes for her own blog Lavender and Lovage.
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