Pasta

Cook pasta about 2 minutes less than package directions instruct. Do not drain pasta or discard the water it was boiled in. Lift pasta out of the water with a long-handled mesh strainer (a spider) or a slotted pasta server and place in a pan of prepared tomato sauce. Ladle in some of the pasta-cooking water, as much as needed to make a flowing (not sticky or soupy) sauce. Saute pasta in the sauce a few minutes so that it absorbs the sauce flavours. Every strand is then coated with sauce when it is served.

When making sauce from canned tomatoes, use whole tomatoes when possible and break them up as you are cooking them. Whole tomatoes are usually nicely ripe when canned. Adjust the seasonings if you use seasoned canned tomatoes. Add tomato paste for richer flavour. The best sauce is made from sun-ripened tomatoes ripe from your garden. Stir them in oil with garlic and onion before adding water.

To  make a small quantity of pasta, use one of the one-pan pasta methods in which you cook the pasta in the same pan as the sauce.

Gnocchi Alla Cioceria

A traditional potato pasta recipe from the area of Italy southeast of Rome, also known as Ciociaria.

• 6 medium potatoes, mashed
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• salt
• flour

1. Peel potatoes, cut in quarters, place in pot of cold, salted water (1 tsp salt per 2 L water).
2. Boil 10-15 minutes.
3. Mash potatoes with 1 Tbsp butter.
4. Mix in beaten eggs.
5. Stir in enough flour to get a dry but not hard dough mixture.
6. Knead the dough into a ball.
7. Flatten the ball on a floured wooden board with a rolling pin, to 1/2 inch thick.
8. Cut and roll dough into 3/4 inch diamater ropes. Cut each rope in 1/2 inch pieces.
9. Take each one and press them with your thumb against a table fork to imprint ridges on them.
10. In a large pot, boil salted water (1 Tbsp salt for every 5 L water.)
11. Stir in the gnocchi when water comes to a boil.
12. Cook for 10 minutes or until tender.
13. Drain and add tomato and meat sauce.
14. Serves 6.

Marilyn's Spaetzl

Spaetzl: tender little blobs of fresh boiled pasta, to serve with chicken. My children loved buttered spaetzl with a little grated cheese when they were small.

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup milk

1. Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center, add eggs and milk. Mix.
2. Place dough on a plate. Scrape bits of dough off the plate with a knife into boiling salted water.
3. Cook several spaetzl at a time, but do not crowd the pot.
4. Spaetzl are done when they bob to the top of the water's surface. Use a slotted spoon to dish them out of the water into a strainer/colander over a bowl. When all the spaetzl are cooked and drained, heat in a pan with melted butter.
5. Recipe makes enough for a side dish of spaetzl. When doubling or tripling the recipe, keep cooked buttered spaetzl warm in a covered dish in the oven.

One-Pan Pasta 

A  meal for 4-6 made in one large pan or pot.

I use a 12-1/2 inch diameter iron pan that is 2-3/4 inches deep.
If you need to use a smaller pan, make half the recipe.

• 4 cups water
• 450 grams bucatini pasta OR linguine
• 796-mL can diced tomatoes 
• 1 onion
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste 
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Peel and slice onion thinly.
2. Remove oregano and basil leaves from stems.
3. Peel and mince garlic cloves.
4. In pan, place the oil, minced garlic, chili flakes, oregano, half of the basil, water, salt, diced tomatoes with juices, tomato paste. 
5. Turn heat to medium-high.
6. Add pasta and bring to a boil, stirring often.
7. Cook until pasta is done and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 10 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and garnish with remaining fresh basil leaves.

One-Pan Spaghetti with wine

• 12 oz. spaghetti
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (Pinot Gris)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (2 cranks of grinder)
• 1-1/2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves
• 2 springs fresh oregano leaves (stripped from stems)
• 1 cup sweet basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan flakes or ground parmesan
• dried chili pepper flakes 

1. Place spaghetti in a large skillet so it lies flat on the bottom of the pan.
2. Add garlic, onion, wine, oil, 4 cups water, salt and pepper.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Turn heat down to boil gently, stirring frequently, 5 minutes.
5. Fold in tomatoes and continue to boil gently until nearly all liquid is absorbed.
6. Pasta will be al dente.
7. Stir in parsley and oregano, then fold in basil.

Penne with Ricotta and Mushrooms

Serves 6

• 454g penne pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 2 227-g pkgs. mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup grated grana padano or parmigiano reggiano cheese

1. Cook penne in large pot of salted water, reserve pasta water.
2. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add oil, then garlic slices, cook 30 seconds until sizzling.
4. Stir in rosemary.
5. Increase heat to medium-high, add salt and mushrooms.
6. Cook 3 minutes just to brown.
7. Season with pepper, add green onions, cook 2 minutes.
8. Ladle in 1 cup pasta water and simmer until mushrooms are tender, 10 minutes.
9. Scoop penne from boiling water and add to pan of mushroom mixture.
10. Stir in ricotta and parsley.
11. Add additional pasta water if needed.
12. Remove from heat and stir in grana padano.

Tiny Tomato Pasta with Ricotta                    

Pictured: A bumper crop of Tiny Tom tomatoes grown in pots on my driveway during the summer of  the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic

• bow-tie pasta (or other small pasta)
• 1 pint small tomatoes
• chopped black olives or ham or bacon
• heavy cream
• fresh ground pepper 
• ricotta cheese
• 1 Tbsp fresh herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, or chives)

1. Boil pasta in a large pot. Drain.
2. In the same pot, add a little olive oil and bacon (if using).
3. When oil is hot, add halved tomatoes (or whole and smashed with a potato masher.)
4. Sautee tomatoes with olives or ham (if using).
5. When mixture is hot and liquid is reduced, add drained pasta.
6. Stir in a splash of cream.
7. Mix in herbed ricotta cheese (ricotta cheese with 1 Tbsp herbs added)
8. Season with pepper and serve.
9. Top with parmesan and dried chili pepper flakes to taste.

Spaghetti Carbonara for 4

• 3/4 lb thick-cut bacon
• 6 garlic scapes, thickly sliced OR 1 clove fresh chopped garlic
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 lemon (optional)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (more to taste)
• 1 lb (455 g) spaghetti

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. 
2. Cut bacon into 1/4 inch thick strips and cook until crisp (15 minutes) in a large deep skillet or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Remove bacon to drain on paper towels and carefully pour off fat (refrigerate for another use) leaving a thin coating of fat in the pan.
4. Cook the garlic, stirring often, in the remaining bacon fat. Remove pan from heat.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with cheese, a tsp lemon zest (optional), pepper.
6. Salt the boiling water until it tastes like the sea.
7. Cook pasta until almost al dente (reduce package's cooking time by 2 minutes.) Scoop out 1 cup pasta water and set aside, then drain pasta well.
8. Add pasta to pan with garlic, adding a splash of pasta water and a squeeze of lemon juice (optional). Stir to mix (or use tongs).
9. Pour in egg mixture while tossing or stirring pasta, then add cooked bacon. Stir in a little more pasta water just until pasta is evenly coated and glossy. Serve immediately in bowls, sprinkled with more cheese and black pepper.

Baked Rotini with Chicken

Makes 4 2-cup servings

Speed up cooking time by using leftover cooked chicken.

• 2-1/2 cups rotini, uncooked
• 1 lb. (450 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (or use leftover cooked chicken to save time.)
• 1 Tbsp or more olive oil
• 1 pg. (227 g) sliced fresh mushrooms
• 3/4 cup pasta sauce
• 1 14-oz can (398 mL) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tsp dried basil leaves
• 1  cup Bechamel (white) sauce OR 8 oz. cream cheese sauce*
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a 2L casserole dish.
3. Cook pasta as directed on package, drain. Set aside.
4. Make white sauce or a *cream cheese sauce: in a saucepan simmer 8 oz cream cheese, 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp cream or milk until blended. Set aside.
5. Dice raw chicken into bite-sized pieces.
6. Put olive oil in a large skillet, heat, add chicken and mushrooms and cook on medium-high 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stir occasionally.
7. Stir in pasta sauce, tomatoes and basil, bring to boil.
8. Turn heat to low and simmer 2 minutes or until chicken is done and tomatoes are heated through.
9. Add white sauce or cream cheese sauce, cook and stir until heated through.
10. Reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes or until chicken is done.
11. Add cooked pasta to chicken mixture, mix lightly.
12. Transfer mixture to a casserole dish, cover and bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees F until heated through.
13. Uncover, top with grated cheese and bake 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Pasta Carbonara

Very easy! Boil pasta, saving some of the salted water the pasta is cooked in. Fry up some bacon (add some garlic or onion if you like), add the cooked pasta to that along with some beaten egg yolks and enough pasta water to make a sauce and stir in some good parmesan cheese. Grate some pepper on top and you're done.

Add some hot fresh peas to the dish too. If you have a lemon, you can add some zest and a squeeze of lemon juice if you like. This recipe calls for capers, I don't like them and leave them out. If you'd like a recipe rather than making this from scratch....

Recipe makes a sauce for about half a 454 gram package of pasta, cooked.

• 4 large egg yolks or 3 extra-large yolks
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 170 g pancetta, diced or about 2/3 cup diced ham
• 3 Tbsp capers, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley (optional)
• 1/2 cup pasta liquid (water in which pasta was cooked)

1. Whisk together egg yolks in a bowl. Set aside.
2. In large, deep skillet, cook pancetta over medium-high heat 3 minutes. If using diced lean ham, heat in a little oil or butter. If using pancetta or bacon, after heating, you can take a few tablespoons out to use as a garnish.
3. Add capers if using, stir while cooking 2 minutes.
4. Stir in garlic( and lemon zest if using) cook 1 minute.
5. Turn down heat.
6. Add cooked warm pasta to pancetta mixture in skillet.
7. Stir in the egg yolks and parmesan, coating pasta, and just enough pasta liquid to make a creamy sauce.
8. Add lemon juice (if using) to taste, stir. Remove from heat.
9. Garnish with extra grated parmesan, reserved pancetta, freshly ground pepper and parsley if you like.