Tell me your authentic but simple Italian pasta recipes

[Lentilbaby]

DH and I adore Italy and Italian food. On a recent trip to Sorrento we went out for dinner and ordered a fancy seafood dish that was pretty mediocre.

An Italian family next to us were all eating a really simple pasta dish with clams. The next day we returned for lunch and ordered the same dish (Spaghetti con Vongole) and it was lush!!

I found the following recipe and tried it last night: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/angela-hartnetts-spaghetti-alle-vongole/

It really needs more garlic and less parsley than suggested IMO but it was good.

Tell me about your simple authentic recipes for delicious pasta please

Bump

I cook chopped fresh tomatoes in a little olive oil until they become a chunky sauce, then add butter, minced garlic, red chilli seeds or fresh chiili, stir. Add prawns, stir until cooked and then add linguine.

Can't find the recipe online atm to give exact measurements but that's the general gist.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/may/10/how-to-cook-perfect-spaghetti-carbonara

Yum.

Placemarking as those clams look good.

have a look at Rachel Roddy - she has a regular column in the guardian

www.theguardian.com/food/series/a-kitchen-in-rome

and a blog here
racheleats.wordpress.com/recipes/

She is not Italian but moved to Rome several years ago, fell in love with an Italian man and now lives there - she has a great writing style (imo) and has published two books (5 quarters - covering life in Rome and Two Kitchens - about switching between Rome and Sicily - her husband's family home). I think she has a great blend of authenticity plus an understanding of English shopping options!! I've cooked loads of her stuff and (fingers crossed) never had a duff recipe yet!

The clams were delicious. I've never cooked them before so was a bit apprehensive but it was actually really easy!

Mmm...look forward to trying these recipes out 👍🏼

One of my favourite simple RR pasta dishes is this one racheleats.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/better-ate-than-never/

In her words it is like a fumble with an attractive and robust fisherman in a grassy dune

@myrtleWilson Brilliant.....I like her already! Will check her out.

One of the best pasta dishes I ever had in Italy was just spaghetti with olive oil and chilli. Not really hot but just a hint of chilli.

My mum is half Italian and her go to quick meal at home was always just plain pasta with butter and Parmesan. Proper comfort food.

is a classic. Nigella lawson.

Had a lovely pasta dish last week on Lake Garda - balioni (sp?) with pinenuts and freshwater tiny sardines, similar to anchovies. Also love gnocchi.

I saw this on two greedy Italians, sliced up sausage mixed with green peppers and slowly cooked for about half an hour an then served with pasta

It was bigoli pasta!

Pasta con burro e salvia (butter and sage), usually works well with veg or cheese filled ravioli or tortellini
Pasta con zucchine e zafferano (courgettes and saffron), sautée thinly sliced or gated courgettes in butter, add saffron and toss through pasta
Gnocchi con pomodoro e rosmarino (tomato and rosemary), melt a spoonful of butter in some olive oil, add passata and chopped rosemary, reduce down and add gnocchi. I usually cook my gnocchi directly in the sauce, if you do the same add a glass or two of water and gently reduce down.

Also pasta con broccoli. There are about a million recipes fir this from all over Italy, with or without ricotta, with or without anchovy fillets etc etc. I do mine with shallots, water from the cooking pasta (you’ll find this is used a lot to loosen sauces) chilli flakes and seasoning. Serve with lots of grated Parmesan or pecorino.
Pappardelle con funghi porcini, soak dried funghi porcini (unless you’ve been mushroom picking!), sautée chopped onion and garlic, add drained mushrooms (but keep the soaking water), deglaze with some white wine (about half a glass), when wine has evaporated add some of the soaking water and continue adding until the mushrooms are soft. Stir in some cream and toss through pappardelle pasta. The sauce should be quite loose so add some cooking water if it starts appearing craggy. Eat immediately.
It’s always a good idea to keep a couple of ladlesful of the cooking water from the pasta to ensure the sauce doesn’t get too dense for all cheesy or non tomato sauces, such as pesto.

Favourite ever pasta dish is here, although I leave out the anchovies as not a fan of them:
www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/spaghetti-aglio-olio-e-peperoncino-recipe

@Blondielongie

Thanks so much for taking the time to post everyone. I'm really looking forward to trying some of these out!

@Melassa Really appreciate your personal recipes! Are you Italian?

Yes Lentilbaby, half Italian and now live here and cook for Italian DP and DC and various other local relatives.
Another recipe if you have leftover cold spaghetti (it doesn’t happen often here!) is spaghetti omelette. Not strictly a “primo” but wonderfully satisfying and a fave with DC. Sautée an onion/shallot/leek or two, add spaghetti and stir so all covered in oil and onion, add enough seasoned beaten eggs with Parmesan generously grated into it to cover the amount of spaghetti in the frying pan, cover and cook until set. The end result is a savoury spaghetti cake. Satisfyingly stodgy.

Proper Roman-style carbonara, my dad’s recipe, learnt stoveside from his mate’s nonna when he was living in Rome in the 80s. Cook enough spaghetti for four with tons of salt until al dente. While it’s cooking, fry up your pancetta cubes with a little garlic and a glut of olive oil. Drain pasta and stir in a knob of butter or some olive oil to lubricate. Take off the heat, then stir pancetta into your drained pasta then crack in two eggs plus an extra yolk - the hot pasta will scramble the egg. That’s it, no cream or any of that nonsense Season well and shovel into your face with joy.

...and now I’m hungry, reading everyone’s recipes!

I forgot the most important bit, a HUGE handful of freshly grated Parmesan right at the end

@Melassa Spaghetti Omelette sounds like a delicious comfort/winter treat

@KnitFastDieWarm Tell me about it 😋
Thanks for your family recipe too 👍🏼

I had an Italian boyfriend and this was his grandmother’s recipe as far as I can remember - it’s vague so bear with me!

• 6 rashers of bacon diced
• a punnet of mushrooms - finely diced (I forget which type!)
• one onion, finely diced

-3 garlic cloves (chopped, crushed or whatever you can be bothered to do with them!)

• big lump of butter
• some fresh pasta - whatever you fancy

Method: fry the bacon over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and immediately turn the heat down.

Chuck in the huge jump of butter and the finely diced mushrooms and cook for about 20 mins until you have a lovely sauce. Stir through some cooked fresh pasta and season to taste.

Very simple, absolutely delicious.