Best pasta recipes?

[lilibet]

I loved the fish recipes thread and got lots of inspiratin from it, so what does everyone serve with pasta?

Ready made pasta sauce!

I really only like tomato based pasta sauces and just make my own up. 1 or 2 tins chopped tomotoes, onion, garlic, peppers, mushroom, broccoli or cauliflower if I want to get rid of it and courgettes. Doesn't take long and we like it. I always add loads of garlic, basil and oregano as well.

I'm pleased you've started this thread as I have just made up a huge batch of pumpkin/squash, pine nut and sage filling for ravioli but was wondering if anyone had any other tasty recipes for ravioli.

Don't worry, I don't make pasta often but love it when I do, as does ds who gets to help and contribute to the mess. I must confess I found the filling I made to be very yummy but also quite rich and I couldn't eat all of what I made (very unusual for me). What could I add to it to tone the flavour down slightly? I did think of adding mozarella cheese but know this won't tone down the flavour much.

Sorry to hijack the thread.

do you have a pasta maker? Would you recommend one? Home made ravioli alwys looks wonderful.

Personally I prefer tomoato based sauces as well but in deference to my daughter and my husband I also do the following quite often, both VERY easy.

CHEESE SAUCE:
Mix 1/2 grated medium cheddar and 1/2 dairylee or kraft slices (they melt really nicely - no lumps!) with some milk and a drop of butter. Mix with the pasta adn either just serve as simple mac & cheese or add any of the following and put it under the grill for a few minutes for a cheesy pasta bake - tuna, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms. For an extra treat crush up some plain crisps for a topping. Yum.

CREAM SAUCE WITH VEGETABLES (AKA PASTA PRIMAVERA I GUESS!):
Very lightly sautee some sliced mushrooms. Slice and blanch carrots and sugar snap peas and cook your pasta. Once all above ingredients are ready pour about 250ml of single cream into a large saucepan (I usually leave the pasta draining in the sink and use the same pot I cooked the pasta in). Add a little butter, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper & parsley (& garlic if you like) and put over a medium heat, mixing with a whisk. After a couple of minutes it will start to thicken. Then just throw all the other ingredients back in and mix it all together. Sometimes I also add a tablespoon or 2 of plain (unflavoured) yogurt to the cream.

P.S. Have you tried adding a little bit of ricotta or mascarpone instead of mozarella to your ravioli?

Yes I do have a pasta maker and love it. I don't tend to make spaghetti but stick more to the flat sheets and use it in Ravioli or lasagne. I bought mine on holiday in Sardinia and it was quite reasonably priced. They're not everyone's cup of tea and it may sit in the cupboard a lot but I love the ease of it. I suppose I could really do without it and just roll the pasta out but I like the fact I can make spaghetti if I want.

Thanks RKayne, I think the ricotta will be nice. What will the mascarpone do. Will it just melt to nothing. I've got some in the freezer that I could add to it.

I don't know - the mascarpone might melt to nothing! I'm not a great cook, I usually just experiment and sometimes things go very wrong. Maybe stick to the ricotta and see how that goes.

Home-made pesto sauce, or really unhealthy but lovely, garlic, mushrooms, double cream and boursio (soft cheese)!!

meanmum I am thinking of buying a pasta machine. Like you, I mainly want it to do ravioli. Machines seem to range from £15 - £100 and I just wondered if you had any views on whether the more expensive models offered any advantages or whether a cheapie would suffice?

This is delish-Chop or cube mushrooms, baby courgette, peppers (lots of red as they are really sweet roasted), red onions if you like. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of pesto, clove of garlic(chopped or pressed)juice of half an orange and zest. Marinate if you have time.
Oven cook for 20 mins at about 180c then add fresh basil and chopped tomatoes , olives if you like.
Cook for another 10 mins then serve over pasta - (I like tag) and add some crumbled feta. This is from a diet book!

Crab and Watercress pasta, (inspired by Nigella and Anthony Worrall Thompson), chilli and garlic pounded in pestle and mortar with salt, add olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper. Cook olive oil mixture in frying pan for a minute or two. Add to cooked pasta with tinned crab and watercress. You can put the crab in to cook with the olive oil if preferred.
Also like spaghetti or linguine with feta, spinach, black olives, garlic and chilli. Very nice.

I don't know what the difference is between good or bad pasta machines. We have an Imperia which is one of the main brands in Italy and one recommended by most chefs I believe. It only cost us about £25.00 and came with 2 spaghetti/tagliatelle attachments and a ravioli tin as well. I would think the more expensive ones wouldn't do much more than the basic ones but open the box and test it for strenght. You don't want some weak flimsy thing but at the same time the machine does all the work for you so you don't necessarily need anything too heavy duty either. Hope that helps.

I wouldn't claim to be a connessiour but my kids live on pasta and if you are looking for odd ideas we have pasta and baked beans, pasta and coleslaw (both surprisingly tasty)

Roasted tomatoes go well - slice tomatoes in half, dribble with olive oil, sprinkle salt, pepper (and sugar if tomatoes a bit underripe) and put in hot oven for a while - about half an hour - until collapsed. If you can be bothered, poke slivers of garlic in, aand/or cover with stems of fresh herbs like majoram, thyme, oregano, before putting them into the oven. We often just have these over pasta with pesto and parmesan, maybe some chopped, fried bacon as well. Or try this - fry some chopped garlic in olive oil with a bit of chilli (dried or fresh), mix into your chosen (cooked!) pasta. If your calorie intake can take it, mix in some mascarpone, but not essential. Squeeze lemon juice over, top with roasted tomatoes.

Lindsay Bareham has a great book on tomatoes as well - very comprehensive.