PASTA is actually one of the easiest and quickest dishes to make once you understand the principles of cooking it. Time to get your skills on, and save some bucks for amazing tasting pasta!
Here are some quick and simple pasta recipes that you can whip up for dinner even when you’re tired from work. Don’t mistake simple for bland, because while these are quick and easy, they are incredibly scrumptious!
Cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper)
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups finely grated pecorino Romano (plus more for dusting completed dish)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
The classic way of making cacio e pepe is with tonnarelli, which is a thicker spaghetti with a rougher surface so that the sauce can stick to it, but spaghetti works fine too. If you prefer, you can use just pecorino cheese, which is cheese made from sheep’s milk.
Meanwhile, Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard cheese made from cow’s milk and aged at least 12 months, which is named after the place it’s produced, in the provinces of Reggio Emilia, Parma.
Getting proper hard cheeses and grating them yourself is the key to making delicious sauces. After buying a block, cut it with a clean and dry knife before wrapping it up in saran wrap and storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
How to cook:
Step 1: Add the freshly ground pepper and heat on high for about 30 seconds or until you can smell the pepper.
Step 2: Add half a ladle of pasta water and cook on high, stirring constantly for about 30-45 seconds.
Step 3: In a small bowl, combine the cheese with half a ladle of pasta water and stir to make a creamy lump-free sauce.
Step 4: Combine the pasta and the cheese cream in the pan, tossing and stirring gently on low heat, adding pasta water if needed.
Step 5: When the creamy sauce has thickened slightly, dust black pepper and cheese on top to finish.
Cacio e pepe may seem like an easy dish, but it is a hard dish to master. However, once you manage to master it, you will end up with an exquisite dish base which you can add other ingredients to transform into different dishes. By adding guanciale, cheek bacon, or just bacon, you get pasta alla gricia. By adding tomatoes to that dish, you will get pasta alla amatriciana. Instead of tomatoes, adding eggs will give you carbonara.
Carbonara
Ingredients:
200g of guanciale/bacon
4 whole medium eggs
1 ½ cups finely grated pecorino Romano (plus more for dusting completed dish)
Ground black pepper
How to cook:
Step 1: Cut the guanciale into small pieces and simmer in a frying pan over medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Whisk the Pecorino Romano and black pepper with the eggs.
Step 3: Place the pasta into the frying pan with guanciale and cook over high heat until the fat from the guanciale combines with it.
Step 4: When they start sizzling, turn off the heat and add in egg and cheese sauce, tossing and stirring. Make sure you turn off the heat so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs. What you want is a creamy sauce.
Note that you don’t need extra oil when cooking fatty pieces of meat as the fat in them should render when simmering. If you’re looking for a halal version, you can just use smoked duck breast instead.
Aglio e olio (garlic and oil) with lemon
Ingredients:
1 lemon (zested)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red chilli flakes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
How to cook:
Step 1: Combine the garlic, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes in a pan, cooking over low heat. Stir occasionally for about 8 minutes until the garlic softens and almost turns golden.
Step 2: Add cheese, lemon, lemon zest, parsley, and pasta, and pasta water if needed. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve with grated cheese on top.
Vegan Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil (large stems removed)
3 tablespoon cashew nuts
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (plus more to taste)
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoon water (plus more as needed)
How to cook:
Step 1: Blend basil, cashew nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt in a food processor or small blender on high until loose paste forms.
Step 2: Slowly drizzle olive oil a little at a time and scrape down sides as needed.
Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Look for a thick, but pourable sauce.
Step 4: Taste and adjust flavour as needed by adding more nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour, salt for overall flavour, nuts for butteriness, or lemon juice for acidity.
Step 5: Serve with pasta and drizzle some extra nutritional yeast!
