Talk to me about Pasta!

[Ottika]

Carbs get a lot of rap these days, but pasta still seems to be popular for quick and healthy meals. I haven't really bothered with it since my student days so would love some ideas.

Is it still popular and do you have any healthy tips?
And i you avoid it like the plague, why?
I tend to get full quick on carbs and don't get hungry again or a long time after, so have never understood the deal.
I am a huge fan of homemade pesto so would love to get reintroduced!

The deal for me is I’m pre diabetic and all carbs put my blood sugar up.

If you’re not diabetic etc then the carbs thing is irrelevant.

It doesn’t matter what type of carbs for me.

You sound pretty groovy though - so maybe just go with the flow.

It's relatively cheap, you don't have to peel it or prepare it, it doesn't go out of date and it cooks in less than 10 minutes . . . what's not to like?

There's a huge variety of recipes - lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, pasta carbonara, macaroni cheese, pesto pasta etc etc

A family favourite here is pastitsio but we also like macaroni cheese with additions (broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, mushrooms or ham)

I think when I was young I associated most of what went with it as saturated fats....and high cholesterol runs in my family. Then again as a student I lived on curry noodles so I have no need to talk

All sounds rather scrumptious got to admit!

What @leafybrew said.

We're 63 and DH is prediabetic. We do sometimes still have pasta but a smaller amount of wholewheat with lots of vegetable under the sauce. We also do more using various types of beans instead of pasta, potatoes or rice

Weigh your portions out - 100g of dry pasta is a decent amount for one - slightly more if just with sauce, slightly less if you’re having some chunky meat or protein with it.

I eat this about once a fortnight and could easily eat it every day, it’s lush.

It's about quality rather than quantity.

You can't beat a small bowl of linguine with a spicy tomato sauce made from roasted cherry tomatoes or a rigatoni with a beefy slow cooked ragu

Fried gnocchi with sage and butter loaded with parmesan

A proper carbonara made with an egg yolk and proper fatty panchetta

A chilli and lobster ravioli coated in butter and grated lemon zest and parmesan.

Deep fried courgette pasta (nicer than it sounds - google Spaghetti alla nerano)

I bloody love pasta!

I switched to wholemeal pasta a few years ago and recently found that Sainsburys do a high fibre selection which look like regular pasta. In a dish, I cannot tell the difference and I assume the higher fibre is better for us.
I've also used a spiralizer to make courgette 'spaghetti' which is even lower in carbs and calorie than any pasta.

oooh, i used to cook courgetti but it does get old after a while. Not bad though, never quite found the best way to cook it.

Not sure where I would source a lobster around here, though sadly!

I am hungry now...

That spaghetti alla nerano looks delicious, having Googled.

I usually use more vegetables than pasta.

how do i roast my own tomatoes, ? sounds delicious. sorry, will google.

Quality pasta is a game changer, it has a much higher protein content. We get the best we can afford it's much more filling. Weigh out your pasta before cooking. I did 240g of dried spaghetti between three of us last night. I have less than a third and DS and DH had the rest. I also like to pad out my pasta dishes with lots of veg.

There's a thing about reheating pasta to make it healthier:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rq3z

Yes, I was thinking, say, a cup of penne maybe, to 3/4 veg and a bit o tomato puree and pesto, sprinkled with parmesan. Sounds a bit basic tho. Not too bad.

Tip a handful per person of cherry tomatoes into a ovenproof dish. Add a good splash of olive oil and salt and a sprinkling of Schwartz Spicy Italian

Roast until the tomatoes are turning brown on the top and then squish them with a fork to make the easiest tastiest tomato sauce ever.

Add cooked linguine/Spaghetti into the roasting dish to soak up all the tomatoey oily herby goodness onto the pasta strands and serve with fresh grated parmesan on top.

Dell'Ugo crab and crayfish ravioli is the one i use in the dish above where its served with butter and lemon zest. I had it originally with lobster ravioli in a restaurant but the crab and crayfish one is the next best thing available from the supermarket.

So use your home made pesto and lots of veg (eh peas, spinach, broccoli) plus some protein (eg chicken or just more cheese) and a small portion of the pasta (I typically eat about 40-50g raw weight). The pasta doesn't have to be the bulk of the meal if you don't enjoy it that way.

Incidentally, I ways found even my smaller portion of pasta to be extremely filling to the point of bloating until I went gluten free. I eat brown rice pasta, now and enjoy it a lot more, even if it does need more help with the flavour.

I think the opposite! The pasta should be the star. The best sauces for me are simple and use good quality pasta:
crab, olive oil, garlic, chilli, lemon
capers, anchovies, tomato, chilli, garlic
clams, olive oil, garlic, chilli
broccoli, chilli, garlic, olive oil, parmesan

Occasionally I will cook a ragu, but that takes hours and hours.

Sadly I have developed a gluten allergy and can’t have pasta (gluten free pasta is just bulk, no taste), but I miss it so much.

I've found the barilla gluten free pasta pretty good and most widely available - i cant tell the difference with their gluten free spaghetti. Also garofalo which is sometimes on offer on Amazon and rummo which can often be picked up in farm shop type places.

The Italians are actually excellent at gluten free stuff, I'm not sure why more of it doesn't make it over to the UK given 1 in 100 people are coeliac and many more have issues with gluten.

For me, pasta is the least interesting starch. I literally cannot remember the last time I ate it!

Thanks, yeah I live in central London and have amazing access to all the pastas and delis. I’m not sure if it’s just a weird taste that I have as my husband who isn’t coeliac can’t really tell the difference. I just find there is a weird twang that I can’t get over. It’s been very upsetting!! I have the same with bread, there is only one that I like and doesn’t have the funny ‘twang’.

I miss the ease of a quick, fresh, tasty pasta dinner - as especially eating out!

I love home made pesto and make it and freeze then make a small portion of pasta and have it cold with pesto and salad etc.

Also make a huge portion of tomatoes and vegetables pasta sauce and freeze that and then use as a full pasta dish.

Some fantastic ideas here, thank you so much!

I will definitely be trying the roast tomatoes this week.

I have noticed that pasta and rice seem to have gone out of fashion in recent years, understandable or those with allergies and intolerances. I wonder i it will have it's day again!

I don't have it often, but when I do I either have it with plenty of veg or a salad first, plus veggies in the sauce. I find I use less pasta that way.