Cooking pasta for dinner doesn’t necessarily have to mean a boring, simple solution because you ran out of time. These two authentic pasta recipes below from Italian celebrity chef and Garofalo pasta ambassador Stefano De Pieri are sure to impress your family and friends far more than a simple spaghetti bolognese. Be sure to follow the genius chefs tips on How to Cook Pasta Al Dente.
Vegetarian farfalle with cream of red capsicums and basil
Essentially, this is s simple sauce, very doable at home, quite healthy and very tasty. It suits the shape of farfalle, is very summery and perfect for alfresco lunch or dining.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
2 fleshy red capsicums
1 garlic clove
2 tabsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onions or three shallots, coarsely chopped
1⁄2 cup cream
Basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese or good grana padano
360g Garofalo Farfalle pasta
Method
- Remove talk, seeds and membrane from the capsicums and chop.
- Chop onion and garlic
- In a saucepan heat the oil, add the garlic, onions and capsicums and gently heat.
- Place a lid on the saucepan (or small pot). Simmer gently adding perhaps a touch of water and cook until very tender. It should not take more than 15 minutes.
- Place contents in a food processor and pulse to obtain a fine cream.
- Return this to a saucepan large enough to accommodate the pasta and reheat gently. Add the cream (double is better – or mascarpone), add salt and pepper to taste and basil likewise.
- Cook the farfalle as per the packet instructions al dente, drain, place in the saucepan, sprinkle with cheese and toss. Serve at once with more basil and cheese if desired.
- By sprinkling the cheese on the pasta before you toss it, you will ensure that the cheese sticks to the pasta and then is coated with the sauce.
Casarecce with spinach, Italian pork sausage, garlic, cheese and chilli
This is a gutsy pasta, which is also easy to execute by anybody, the sausage is very Neapolitan. It is obviously a winter dish, elegant because of its singularity but its architecture is rooted in the southern Italian heritage of cucina povera.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
3 pure pork sausages (alternatively 300 g of minced pork shoulder dressed with salt and pepper)
2 garlic cloves
1 generous cup of either cooked and chopped spinach (the real thing, not leaves), broccoli (well cooked) or turnip tops (cime di rapa, also well cooked)
100 g of soft cheese like stracchino, la bouche with no rind or squacquerone which is a white cream cheese. Mascarpone may also do
A pinch of chilli
1⁄2 cup of cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese to taste
360g Garofalo Caserecce pasta
Method
- Chop the garlic, remove the sausage from its casings and gently cook in a non-stick frying pan. There should be enough fat in the meat not to use oil or butter but do so if you prefer.
- When the sausage is cooked, add the greens and a touch of water to bind. Add the cream (but you can minimise this or omit it altogether), the chili and seasoning.
- When the pasta is cooked al dente according to the instructions, place it in the saucepan with the sauce, sprinkle with cheese and toss. Serve at once.
Note: sometimes a little lemon zest can go a long way.
Recipes by Italian celebrity chef Stefano De Pieri, Garofalo pasta ambassador.
