Category: Pasta

Pasta

Pesto Pasta with Burrata

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Pesto Pasta with Burrata

This light and creamy pesto pasta topped with fresh burrata is the prefect summer meal! It’s easy to make and can be whipped up in 20 minutes.

The key, as always, is fresh ingredients! It is very customizable so have fun with it. Add chicken, prawns, cherry tomatoes or leave it nice and simple like my recipe below. You can omit the burrata and ricotta cheese and still end up with an amazing finished product. I used spaghetti but substitute for your favorite pasta or even zucchini noodles.

Pesto Pasta with Burrata

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


¾lb Spaghetti
3oz Basil, leaves only
2 Cloves of garlic
½C Olive Oil
½C Freshly grated Pecorino Romano
2T Pine nuts
2T Ricotta cheese or cream
4oz Burrata
Sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper

Directions


Fill a pot with water, salt and a drizzle with olive oil. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add spaghetti and stir occasionally to avoid pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Place cheese and pine nuts into a food processor and process until chopped. Add garlic, basil and a pinch of salt and process until its finely minced, about 30 seconds. Turn food processor on and pour in olive oil. Process until you achieve a soft sauce. Hand mix in the ricotta cheese or cream.

Toss spaghetti and pesto sauce together. Plate and top with a wedge of burrata and fresh cracked pepper.

Pasta

Pasta al Limone

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Pasta al Limone
Pasta al Limone

Pasta al Limone is a bright and fresh pasta sauce that is perfect for a summer night. The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity and you can whip it up in under 15 minutes.

Pasta al Limone

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


1lb Angel hair pasta
4T Butter
4T Olive oil
2 Large lemon, freshly zested and juiced
2 Cloves of garlic, finely minced
2T Heavy Cream
¾C Pecorino romano, freshly grated
Sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper


Directions

Fill a pot with water, salt and a drizzle with olive oil. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add angel hair pasta and stir occasionally to avoid pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Drain and reserve ½ cup of pasta water.

In a medium sauté pan add butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Once butter has melted add the lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic and cook for 2 minutes (do not let garlic brown). Add cream and season with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked pasta and cheese to the sauté pan and toss to coat. If sauce is dry add reserved pasta water until desired creaminess. Serve with additional fresh cracked pepper on top and sprinkle with Romano.

Pasta, Sauces

Cherry Tomato Sauce

by laurenrhillLeave a Comment on Cherry Tomato Sauce
Cherry Tomato Sauce

I LOVE this sauce. It is easy to make and taste light and fresh.  

This is the perfect sauce to pour over your favorite fresh pasta like linguini, gnocchi or orecchiette. It is very versatile, so get creative with it. You can even use it to top roasted eggplant, pizza, fish or steak. The options are endless.

Cherry Tomato Sauce

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


½c Olive oil
5 Cloves garlic, minced
2 Pints cherry tomatoes
¼t Red pepper flakes
Sea Salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
8oz Fresh mozzarella ciliegine (optional)
2 Sprigs of fresh basil, chiffonade


Directions


Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant but not turning brown, about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes and ground black pepper. As the tomatoes cook and soften, smash them with the back of a fork. Lower heat to low and cook an additional 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and add mozzarella and basil. Toss to combine with your favorite pasta.

Pasta

Gnocchi

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Gnocchi
Gnocchi

Gnocchi just happens to be the pasta that started my lifelong love affair with fresh homemade pasta. Gnocchi is a delicate, light, pillow like dumpling. I grew up watching my grandmother making gnocchi on the kitchen counter. I remember her shaping them one by one and then flicking them to the side.

This recipe has a huge shortcut to making gnocchi, but the results are amazing. A traditional gnocchi recipe has you boil potatoes, peel potatoes and rice them. While they are worth the work this recipe cuts the time in half and makes it more practical to have gnocchi as often as you would like.

I have substituted the boiled potatoes for instant, I know it sounds like a huge taboo… but I promise that I never take shortcuts when it comes to cooking but this one is worth it. This saves you about an hour worth of work and allows you to have more control over the moisture in the potatoes. The less flour you add to the potatoes the lighter they will be. Don’t over mix or work your dough, that will cause the gnocchi to become tough. The dough should feel soft, smooth and a little sticky.

Gnocchi

  • Servings: 2-4
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients

1c Instant potato flakes

1c Boiling water

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1c 00 Flour or all-purpose flour

1t Sea salt

1/4t Fresh ground pepper


Directions


Mix instant potato flakes with boiling water. Set aside and let cool.

Place cooled potatoes onto a clean lightly floured work surface, marble works best. Drizzle egg over the top, salt, pepper and gradually begin adding the flour. Once flour is well incorporated began kneading until dough is soft, smooth and a little sticky, about 3 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a long rope, about ¾ inch diameter. Cut rope crosswise every ¾ of an inch. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer and sprinkle them with flour.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi until it floats to the top, about 3 minutes. Enjoy with your favorite sauce!

Pasta

Fresh Squid Ink Pasta

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Fresh Squid Ink Pasta
Fresh Squid Ink Pasta

This dramatic squid ink pasta or pasta al nero di seppia is sure to make any dish memorable! The squid ink (cuttlefish ink) not only offers this dough a vibrant color but it adds an extra dimension of flavor; a salty, ocean-y note. It is wonderful when paired with a light seafood sauce or keep it simple and fresh with an olive oil and lemon sauce.

Fresh Squid Ink Pasta

  • Servings: 1lb
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients

3 Eggs, beaten

2c 00 Flour or all-purpose light baking flour

8g Squid Ink (cuttlefish ink)

1t Olive Oil

¼t Sea Salt

Directions


Shift the salt and flour onto a clean work surface, marble works best, and make a mound with a well in the center.

Pour the beaten eggs, squid ink and olive oil into the middle of the well. Gradually mix the eggs mixture into the flour using a fork, pulling down the sides a little at a time. If the dough is too wet add a little flour. If the dough is too dry add a little olive oil until you achieve the right consistency.

Once the dough is well combined begin kneading. You can use a KitchenAid with a dough hook or knead it by hand, 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest for a least 30 minutes.
Cut and roll as desired.

Tip: When rolling out your dough pass it through the same setting 3 to 4 times. This will result in silky smooth pasta.

Pasta

Squid Ink Fettuccine with Shrimp & Cherry Tomatoes

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Squid Ink Fettuccine with Shrimp & Cherry Tomatoes
Squid Ink Fettuccine with Shrimp & Cherry Tomatoes

This dish is sure to impress any guest and set you apart from all other cooks. There is so much I love about this truly unique pasta dish. From the vibrant black fettuccine, to the pop of color from the yellow cherry tomatoes, to the salty sea flavor – it is perfection on a plate!

I made fresh squid ink fettuccine for this recipe, but you can always purchase squid ink pasta from the grocery store. If you don’t make your own pasta this meal can be made in less then 30 minutes. However, I believe the homemade squid ink pasta is worth every moment spent making it. It brings a fresh saltiness that you can’t get from the store.  It is a simple pasta to make and you will be so proud of yourself once you see and eat your final product. Squid ink fettuccine recipe.

Squid Ink Fettuccine with Shrimp & Cherry Tomatoes

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


1lb Squid ink pasta
¼c Olive Oil
½ shallot, thinly sliced
5 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Pint yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¼c Dry white wine
1lb Raw shrimp
1T Butter, room temperature
2T Lemon juice plus zest
3T Fresh basil, chiffonade
Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Pecorino Romano

Directions


Fill a pot with water, salt and drizzle with olive oil. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add fresh squid ink fettuccine and stir occasionally to avoid pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add sliced shallots. Cook down until shallots are tender but not browned. Add cherry tomatoes and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Add garlic to the pan and white wine. Reduce wine to about half. Add raw shrimp with lemon juice and a butter, season with salt, ground pepper. Cook until pink, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add basil.

Toss pasta and sauce together in serving bowl. Top with lemon zest and Pecorino Romano.

Pasta

Fresh Pasta Dough

by laurenrhill1 Comment on Fresh Pasta Dough
Fresh Pasta Dough

Everyone should try to make fresh homemade pasta at least once in their life. But please keep in mind if you make it, cook it and eat it immediately, you’ll be ruined forever for the store-bought variety. Make sure that when you deiced to make pasta you give yourself the time to enjoy the process and don’t rush it.

Quality ingredients is the key to this recipe, actually, the key to any great recipe. Eggs, I prefer pasture raised and grass fed. The yolk should be bright orange which will give your pasta that rich and vibrant color. Flour, Italian “00” Flour (doppio zero) is ideal but I have made pasta many times with all-purpose light baking flour and it turns out beautiful every time.

The consistency of the dough is something that may change each time you make fresh pasta dough, as there are so many different factors that affect the consistency. If your dough seems too wet add some additional flour a little at a time until you are happy with your product. It your dough is too dry add olive oil.  

Fresh Pasta Dough

  • Servings: 1lb
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients

500g “00” Flour
1t Sea Salt
275g Egg yolks
1 Whole egg
25g Olive Oil
30g Whole milk

Directions


Shift the salt and flour onto a clean work surface, marble works best, and make a mound with a well in the center.
Pour the eggs yolks, whole egg, milk and olive oil into the middle of the well. Gradually mix the egg mixture into the flour using a fork, pulling down the sides a little at a time. If the dough is too wet add a little flour. If the dough is too dry add a little olive oil until you achieve the right consistency.
Once the dough is well combined begin kneading. You can use a KitchenAid with a dough hook or knead it by hand, 5 minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic warp and let rest for a minimum of 1 hour.
Cut and roll as desired.
Tip: When rolling out your dough pass it through the same setting 3 to 4 times. This will result in silky smooth pasta.

Pasta

Bucatini alla Vodka

by laurenrhillLeave a Comment on Bucatini alla Vodka
Bucatini alla Vodka

This Bucatini alla Vodka is a creamy smooth tomato sauce with spicy sausage, that has become a quick favorite in our home. It is easy to prepare and requires little cooking time compared to most tomato sauces.

I use bucatini which is a think spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center. It was my grandfather’s favorite pasta and every time I use it, it brings me back to our Sunday family dinners. When dinner was ready my grandfather would yell out, “Come and get it” and all of us kids would come running up to enjoy some of the best meals ever prepared. Most of my favorite childhood memories are centered around my grandparents dining table. Food brought us all together to love, laugh and eat!  Traditionally, vodka sauce is made with penne pasta. Feel free to sub the bucatini out for penne, mezzi rigatoni or any other pasta of choice.

The recipe below does have quite a bit of spice to it, so if you prefer you can sub the spicy Italian sausage out for a milder Italian sausage. Vodka sauce is also wonderful without any meat. I would recommend if you decide not to use meat add some fresh chopped mozzarella to the top.  

Bucatini alla Vodka

  • Servings: 4 to 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


1lb Bucatini
13oz Spicy Italian sausage
3T Olive Oil
½ Onion, finely chopped
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
4 Cloves garlic, finely minced
½c Vodka
½c Heavy cream
26oz Strained Tomatoes
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano
Freshly ground pepper
Sea salt


Directions


Fill a pot with water, salt and drizzle with olive oil. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add bucatini and stir occasionally to avoid pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Remove sausage from its casing and cook, breaking down the sausage, until lightly browned. Add onions, salt and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in vodka and cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in cream and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Drain pasta in colander and toss with vodka sauce. Top with freshly grated Pecorino Romano and freshly ground pepper.

Pasta

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

by laurenrhillLeave a Comment on Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Spaghetti alla Carbonara seems fitting as my first post as it was the first pasta dish I ever made. My sister and I decided to try a homemade dinner and it went terribly wrong. We cooked the pasta about an hour before preparing the sauce so when we added the spaghetti to the egg and cheese mixture it wasn’t hot enough to warm the eggs and slightly cook them, creating a cold and inedible dinner. Even worse, we let the pasta sit before serving.  While we knew this dish was easy, we didn’t know how important each detail would be. This is what I’ve learned.

After lots of trial and error, Spaghetti alla Carbonara might be one of my favorite pasta dishes. Not only is it delicious it is also fairly simple, quick and affordable. It is one of my go to pasta dishes after a long workday and although it is quick, it tastes like you worked on it all day!

A few important notes to remember when making this beautiful Spaghetti alla Carbonara:

Season your pasta water so that it tastes like the ocean (don’t be shy) and then add a splash of olive oil so that the spaghetti wont stick. Reserve about a half cup of pasta water before you pour your cooked spaghetti into the colander.

Only use the best quality eggs. This is extremely important as it is what makes this sauce creamy and bright in color; I prefer pasture raised and grass fed. The yolk should be bright orange.

The key to perfect balance and flavor is using the two types of cheese, Parmesan and Romano. I am whole heartedly a Romano girl in almost every instance BUT Parmesan is necessary in this dish. If you really want the best sauce use freshly grated cheese…actually, always use freshly grated cheese in every dish you make.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Rating: ★★★★★
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Ingredients


¾ lbs Spaghetti
8 oz Pancetta
4 T Pecorino Romano
4 T Parmesan
1 Egg
3 Egg yolks
1 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 T Olive Oil
Fresh ground pepper
Sea Salt

Directions


Fill a pot with water, salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add spaghetti and stir occasionally to avoid pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Reserve about a half cup of pasta water.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and sauté pancetta. Right before you are done cooking the pancetta add the finely minced garlic so that it cooks but does not brown.
In your pasta bowl add the two whole eggs and add two additional yolks, Parmesan and Romano cheese, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of salt. You don’t need a lot of salt because there is already some in the cheese and pancetta. Using a fork, mix well until everything is well incorporated.
Once pasta is cooked to your liking, strain in a colander and gradually add the pasta to the egg and cheese mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly so that the eggs don’t scramble. Add the pancetta and olive oil to pasta. If sauce is dry, add reserved pasta water until desired creaminess. Serve with additional ground pepper on top and sprinkle with Romano. Serve immediately and enjoy this spaghetti with family & friends.