Any pasta recipes that are simple yet delicious?

[Silversage]

So what is a sauce that isn't heavy with tomatoes?

Actually, Southern Italian food uses a lot of tomatoes. Northern Italian is more similar to French, using cream, butter and cheese. Alfredo sauce is a good example. It's nothing but butter and cheese. In America, we often add cream as well. The same brands that sell marinara sauce usually have a jarred alfredo sauce too. Pesto is just basil, cheese, garlic and pine nuts ground up into olive oil. You can also buy some good pesto in the same aisle of the grocery.

Somewhere in between is vodka sauce. It has a tomato base, but is combined with cream, so it is pink or peach in color, and isn't very 'tomatoey'.

 

[Silversage]

My problem is I am not a fan of tomatoes and I know Italian food is heavy on tomatoes.

George, why don't you tell us what you do like, and we can give you ideas?

Mushrooms? Meat? Garlic? Cheese? Nuts? Herbs? Other vegetables? We gave you many ideas using tomatoes because we didn't know that you don't like them.

 

[taxlady]

My problem is I am not a fan of tomatoes and I know Italian food is heavy on tomatoes.

Does your pasta sauce have to be Italian?

And as Silversage mentioned, Northern Italian sauces are often cream based. It's harder to grow tomatoes in the mountains than to raise cows.

 

[dragnlaw]

Ditto Silversage! To all intents and purposes for a beginner pasta is pasta, whether or not it was handmade by Nonna in Little Italy and is fresh or shaken dry out of a box from the grocer.

KISS

 

[dragnlaw]

Maybe the majority of store bought pasta tastes the same. But, I assure you, the spelt fusilli (from Felicetti) that I used Sunday for supper doesn't taste the same as a pasta that is made of white flour or one that is made with khorasan wheat flour (Kamut is a registered trademark of that kind of wheat.) There is enough variation in flavour that Fellicetti is my go to brand, because I really like it. When I come across it, I choose Bionaturae. With the Bionaturae, I munch the cooked pasta before it even has any sauce.

sorry to be obtuse, but this helps a beginner how? I've never heard of any of those names/brands. Ahhh, maybe Kamut as some sort of a type of wheat - but have never seen it in a grocery store. Where would anyone get that stuff?

 

[taxlady]

sorry to be obtuse, but this helps a beginner how? I've never heard of any of those names/brands. Ahhh, maybe Kamut as some sort of a type of wheat - but have never seen it in a grocery store. Where would anyone get that stuff?

I was just countering the contention that pasta all tastes the same. There are different types of pasta available that just pasta made from white flour.

Where would anyone get that stuff? If someone is interested, it's not hard to find at some supermarkets, as well as some ethnic markets and some health food stores.. If someone isn't interested, they probably won't notice it.

 

[msmofet]

Oil based sauces with fresh garlic (Aglio Olio). Such as Linguine and Broccoli Aglio Olio (you can add cooked chicken to this also if you want), and Linguine with white clam sauce.

 

[georgevan]

Does your pasta sauce have to be Italian?

And as Silversage mentioned, Northern Italian sauces are often cream based. It's harder to grow tomatoes in the mountains than to raise cows.

My sauce doesn't have to be Italian. So what are some names of cream based sauces?(store bought)

 

[georgevan]

George, why don't you tell us what you do like, and we can give you ideas?

Mushrooms? Meat? Garlic? Cheese? Nuts? Herbs? Other vegetables? We gave you many ideas using tomatoes because we didn't know that you don't like them.

Meat, garlic, cheese

 

[dragnlaw]

Alfredo Sauce is the main one. Usually served on linguine but which ever pasta you have is great.
Look up Rose sauces, which is a tomato based but with cream added which, to my mind, makes it a lot less acidic.
For meat there is always Swedish Meatballs with a mushroom sauce, again over Linguine but really any pasta you fancy.

Any kind of meatball you fancy with perhaps just a drizzle of Olive Oil with some melted butter that has been flavoured with garlic. Again, any pasta, probably a long one.
For a short pasta, like Rigatoni, fry up some bacon, butter/olive oil, some garlic.

Any/all of them are good to have cheese grated over top. think we have covered a lot of very simple recipes over the past 8 days...

So, georgevan, which one are you going for?

 

[pictonguy]

Meat, garlic, cheese

There are no rules, you can add whatever you want in any combination you want because it's you that has to eat it. Add stuff you like and see what happens.

 

[dragnlaw]

Perfect!

 

[Silversage]

Meat, garlic, cheese

Perfect! Chicken alfredo pasta!

Alfredo is basically a parmesan cheese sauce, and it comes in a jar.
Chicken is meat - slice up some leftover chicken (store bought rotisserie chicken is good for this).
You can buy chopped garlic in a jar and it keeps forever.

Cook pasta in boiling water.
Heat the sauce in a pan (taste it - if you think it needs more garlic, add some out of a jar of garlic and cook it a few more minutes to meld it together).
Stir the chicken and pasta into the sauce.
If you want to add some vegetables, frozen peas are good - a jar of mushrooms (drained) work well - leftover beans or broccolli will do.

 

[Silversage]

Another - Ham and Pesto Pasta

Pesto is mostly cheese, basil and garlic. It comes in a jar near the spaghetti sauce.
Chop up some ham - leftovers are good for this.

Boil the pasta and drain. Stir in the pesto and ham. No need to cook this - the pasta will be hot enough to warm the pesto.

 

[Kathleen]

@georgevan I love all of the answers you receive from the questions you ask, but I don't recall hearing whether you have made anything based on the suggestion or whether you used any of them. Could you provide some feedback? Did you make any of the pasta suggestions? Buy a specific kind of rice and, if so, how did you like it? What about the salt? Feedback would be awesome.

 

[georgevan]

@georgevan I love all of the answers you receive from the questions you ask, but I don't recall hearing whether you have made anything based on the suggestion or whether you used any of them. Could you provide some feedback? Did you make any of the pasta suggestions? Buy a specific kind of rice and, if so, how did you like it? What about the salt? Feedback would be awesome.

I am just getting into it so I don't have enough experience to state anything

 

[georgevan]

Alfredo Sauce is the main one. Usually served on linguine but which ever pasta you have is great.
Look up Rose sauces, which is a tomato based but with cream added which, to my mind, makes it a lot less acidic.
For meat there is always Swedish Meatballs with a mushroom sauce, again over Linguine but really any pasta you fancy.

Any kind of meatball you fancy with perhaps just a drizzle of Olive Oil with some melted butter that has been flavoured with garlic. Again, any pasta, probably a long one.
For a short pasta, like Rigatoni, fry up some bacon, butter/olive oil, some garlic.

Any/all of them are good to have cheese grated over top. think we have covered a lot of very simple recipes over the past 8 days...

So, georgevan, which one are you going for?

Don't know yet

 

[pictonguy]

Well, maybe tell us about a few typical meals you do make for yourself, there is no wrong answer.

 

[georgevan]

I just made a pepper sausa

Well, maybe tell us about a few typical meals you do make for yourself, there is no wrong answer.

I just made a pepper sausage meal with recipe taken from Pierre the chef on ytube and it turned out well.

 

[dragnlaw]

Great news! which pasta did you have?