Pasta makes a great base for either a main dish or a light lunchtime meal. There are so many options for pasta. There are many pasta options, from the super-thin angel hair pasta nest to the fun bow-tie Farfalle. For Italian dinners, noodles are the best type of pasta. For summer salads with vegetable-based ingredients, you can use shorter pasta shapes like fusilli, farfalle, rotini, and shells. Mix it up when choosing pasta. Mix and match different plates of pasta with different ingredients to discover which one you prefer in a particular situation. There are many ways to mix and match ingredients until you find the perfect combination. Here are some recipes and techniques.
Marinara
A pasta dish with classic Italian marinara sauce is the best. There are millions of marinara recipe variations, each with its secrets and techniques. As the base, classic marinara uses tomatoes, oregano and basil. You can then add onions, peppers, and a variety of meats to the base. Each recipe is different. You might brown the meat first, then add the sauce. Or you could cook the sauce for hours on low heat covered with a lid. Some chefs prefer to remove the lid for thicker sauces. Some chefs won’t eat the sauce until it has had 24 hours to mix. No matter your method or recipe, a great marinara will get you high marks at dinner.
Pesto
Pesto sauce ranks right alongside marinara in the top ten most popular Italian dishes. It’s hard to beat the combination of fresh basil and pine nuts, olive oils, garlic, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Like the marinara sauce, your approach to pesto preparation will determine how you make it. Pesto must be prepared with olive oil, garlic, and basil. For a citrus kick, you can add lemon, capers, cilantro, or crushed red pepper for some heat. Some pesto sauces look more like gravy, with less olive oil added to the sauce. Others are rich in oil. You can add grilled shrimp or chicken to your pesto dish. Linguine works well as pasta.
Cream Sauce
The cream sauce is the final and most famous sauce in the Italian triumvirate. There are many kinds, but the most popular are vodka cream (pink) and alfredo (white). Both are high in calories due to heavy cream, butter, and cheese. You can also add fresh basil and oregano to your alfredo sauce, just like with pesto and marinara. Spinach can be used to spice up the white sauce. Butter and cream are used to make the pink sauce. Vodka cream sauces will often have more hot spices than alfredo sauces. Alfredo sauce is great served with fettuccini or grilled chicken. The tubular penne pasta is often served with vodka sauce. Another favourite is salmon with vodka cream sauce.
Asian Fusion
Many people associate pasta with Italian cuisines when they think about pasta. Pasta noodles are a key ingredient in many Asian dishes. These are quick and easy summer pasta recipes that you can eat cold. Make small pasta shapes like fusilli or farfalle, then chill the pasta in the refrigerator overnight. Combine the pasta with sesame oil and broccoli florets. Add some soybeans, sesame seed, sesame nuts, and a little soy sauce. This is only one version of Asian pasta salad. To make it even more Asian, you can add chopped peanuts and snow peas and diced red onions, fresh ginger, and peppers. You can try different combinations to find the perfect combination. Serve the dish with chopsticks or a fortune cookie to impress your friends.
Pasta and fruit
As an ingredient to spice up your pasta, fruit is often overlooked. You’ll be able to use shaped pasta instead of noodles, as with most cold pasta salads. Macaroni is a great place to start. If you like the twist, corkscrew pasta might be a better choice. These portions of pasta can be made with any fruit, so it doesn’t matter what flavour you want. Grapes, mandarin oranges, and pineapples all taste great and can be paired with nuts such as pecans or sliced almonds. A cold pasta salad with fruit and nuts can also be cheese. Because of their tangy flavour, blue and feta cheeses work well with fruits.
Mediterranean Pasta
We can now move to the Greek Islands as Italy and Asia has been covered. Mediterranean spices and ingredients are a great way to spice up pasta. Shaped portions of pasta work best with cold dishes. Noodles can be used for hot dishes. Although there are many ingredients in Mediterranean pasta dishes, the most important ones are olives, olive oils, tomatoes, and tomatoes. You can make a Mediterranean-style pasta dish by adding capers, lemon juice and feta cheese to the recipe. Grilled chicken is an excellent addition to cold and hot Mediterranean pasta dishes. You can increase the vegetable content by adding cucumber, onion bell peppers, and zucchini.
Grilled Vegetables
Grilling vegetables over an open flame can flavour bland vegetable pasta dishes. You can cook many vegetables on the barbecue, including squash, bell peppers and onions, as well as asparagus. There are many ways to prepare your pasta vegetables on the barbecue. You can either skewer your vegetables and then brush them with a spiced-up olive oil mixture or marinate them beforehand for maximum flavour. A grill skillet is also an option. Although it looks similar to a traditional pan, the sides and bottom are filled with holes. This allows you to use a method that you are more familiar with. You can chop your vegetables and then pan roast them. Add flavoured wood chips or herbs to your grill flame for an extra kick.
Peppers
Peppers are the best way to spice up pasta. The perfect sauce-free option for pasta is roasted peppers, a popular ingredient in Italian cuisine. Place some red, yellow, and orange bell peppers on your grill. To get a great roasted pepper, you need to grill it until it turns black. Once you see a burnt pepper, take it off the grill and place it in a container or plastic bag. Seal it tightly. Allow the pepper to rest for 20 minutes before removing it. You’ll have a soft, charred pepper that retains all the grill flavours. These peppers can be added to pasta with olive oil and Italian spices.
South of the Border
Although Mexican-inspired pasta is often overlooked, they are a huge hit at summer parties. Mexican pasta salads can be used as a side dish or picnic treat, as well as being able to replace rice and beans with them. Let’s start with the basics: onion, tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, and roasted red pepper. Next, take a can of black beans and drain them. Add this to the mixture along with small, shaped pasta. Add some chopped jalapenos or habaneros to spice it up, as well as some powdered cumin (or chilli powder). Chop up a chipotle chilli pepper for a smoky flavour. If you are sensitive to spicy heat, it is best to cut out most of the seeds from the hot peppers. For a winning recipe, combine all ingredients and chill. You can add meats like grilled chicken and spicy chorizo.
Comfort Food
Everybody needs comfort food once in a while. The classic American comfort food of macaroni, cheese, and chicken noodle casserole is perfectly captured in this recipe. While you can make a more sophisticated version with cream and butter sauces, this pasta dish is easy to make. Open your cans and cook your egg noodles. Mix the soup, chicken, and noodles. Season it with sage, poultry seasoning, oregano and salt. Bake the soup in a casserole dish. Add the cheese and fried onion to the top. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until it becomes crunchy brown baked goodness. You can make it healthier by using a low-sodium and low-fat soup with broccoli florets.
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