Traditional (simple) pasta recipes?

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We eat pasta for dinner quite a lot, but usually just a hodge-podge of whatever vegetables we have in either a tomato or creamy sauce.

I'd like to expand my range to include some traditional pasta recipes. The kind with proper names! Nothing too complex, just an easyish weeknight dinner.

We are pescetarian (eat everything except meat). We don't really like meat substitutes like quorn etc.

So far I've come up with:

Pesto Genovese
Pasta Primavera
Fettucine Alfredo

Any others? and please no-one say Spaghetti Bolognese :-)

You can do a sort of carbonara using grilled mushrooms rather than ham. Do it with eggs and Parmesan rather than cream.

Pasta Norma with aubergine?

There’s some amazing pumpkin and saffron recipes too.

My personal mega simple favourite is an arrabiata.

Carbonara without the meat and a big side of griddled asparagus is lovely

I don’t know what it would be called, but linguine with king prawns, lemon juice and rind, olive oil (chilli too if you like it) and a bit of parsley, very well seasoned, is lovely.

You could substitute the prawns for white crab meat. Or have crab and prawns.

Welltidy I won DPs heart with that dish. It was the first meal I cooked him and he loves it to this day

Sorry I meant to suggest a dish too. Try Pasta Puttanesca if you like punchy flavours.

Pasta e ceci
Spaghetti aglio e olio
Homemade pesto is significantly nicer than shop bought and very easy.

Parmesan isn’t suitable for a pescatarian.

You can get vegetarian alternatives to Parmesan though - Morrisons and Waitrose both have one.

I don't think mine has a proper name.

Olive oil and garlic, roasted vine tomatoes and chargrilled peppers and a few pine nuts.

Came on to suggest puttanesca but I see someone already has....slightly addictive and if you like homemade pizza you can make double and save half for a pizza topping.

Vongole?

We make spinach ball and courgette pasta a lot from this recipe: www.carluccios.com/recipes/penne-giardiniera/

DELICIOUS and veggie. I recommend making double the amount of spinach balls in one afternoon as they take a while and then freeze however many portions to have as a quick meal at a later point

Smoked salmon, creme fraiche, lemon, lots of pepper, mixed into hot pasta

Basciola...just dont add bacon

Cacio e Pepe!

Spaghetti with anchovies, chili, garlic and breadcrumbs

Tuna pasta with tomatoes, cinnamon and basil

Very ripe (uncooked) tomatoes tossed with hot pasta, olive oil and basil - even nicer with fresh sweetcorn and some ricotta as well

Oh and another one - courgette and feta... super simple.

Courgettes, garlic - stir in the feta (am assuming feta is veggie though). Lots of black pepper.

Also and I forget the proper name - but pasta with walnuts

Smoked Salmon carbonara really nice!

@IsolatedIzzy that sounds like a lovely idea - will try that!

Peperonata
Arrabbatia
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta con le Sarde
Vegetarian lasagne and bolognese

Simple garlic, chilli & lemon - add prawns too

Baked gnocchi with tomatoes, mozzarella and Parmesan

Simple slow cooked tomato sauce (roast tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, oregano, red wine vinegar, sugar, seasoning) then mix them into a carton of passata and some water, simmer until thick. Delicious on any type of pasta with a drizzle of truffle oil and tonnes of fresh basil (I eat it cold too)

Sicilian sardine spaghetti (I use tinned sardines!)

ginfilledcats yes...penne Giardinera. I use the Carluccios recipe and it's our favourite. I use left over spinach balls to eat with poached eggs for breakfast the next day.

I made a delicious pasta the other day. It was one white onion, chopped and gently cooked in oil, chopped white mushrooms and two tins of canned artichokes. Cooked them in the frying pan for a bit with some parsley and garlic and then stirred in cream. It was DELICIOUS.

Joe and Rosie Wicks spaghetti bolognese is really nice (Green lentils) tin or packet .(make sure they dont need soaking though)Red wine ,walnuts ,tinned toms ,stacks of cheese! (on line recipe)

Also came to suggest puttanesca. Yum.

Carbonara should be bacon and milk, it'sd not really traditional it was invented after WWII when soldiers shared some of their rations.

Simplest, non traditional.

One pan with pasta and hot water in it
A frying pan
cream cheese

When the pasta is cooked put the cream cheese in the frying pan and wait, add a spoonfull or two of the pasta water.

This can be expanded by cooking things in the frying pan before the cream cheese goes in, mushrooms or smolked salmon work well.

Obviously you can add seasonings, salt and pepper, paprika and you can finish it with parmesan.

A tomato sauce I make (usually with meatballs, but would work with veg instead or just as a sauce).

1 pack/jar passatta
5/6 cherry tomaotes
One of those tubs you get at the supermarket with mozzerella and sundried tomatoes
dried italian herbs
black pepper (the mozzerella tends to be salty so I don't add salt).
1 clove of garlic finely chopped

Put everything in a pan except the mozzerella and heat. Get a caserole dish, in my case this will have had meatballs cooking in the oven but you could add any fresh or frozen veg. Pour over the tomato sauce, top with mozzerella and bake until veg are cooked.

YOu can put the pasta dry in the sauce as it goes in the oven or cook seperately.