The excellent pasta night unfold is inside attain; under, you’ll discover recipes for the greatest pasta night ever. Mix and match to your wants — you don’t should make pasta from scratch, however possibly you wish to. Maybe you’ll pair it with the sauce that you’ve in the freezer, or possibly you’ll decide up a enjoyable new pasta form from the market and match it with a sauce you’ve by no means tried earlier than. Perhaps, you’ll like a pointy, vinegary salad alongside the meal, or crisp, buttery garlic bread. Tell us your excellent pasta night menu in the feedback!
Like I stated, you don’t should make your personal pasta. But you probably have the time and will, it may be a enjoyable experiment! If you’re not all the way down to make your personal pasta, be happy to skip over this part and get straight to sauce concepts.
Fresh Egg Pasta for Lasagna, pictured. Yes, that is “for lasagna,” however you need to use this recipe from cookbook writer Domenica Marchetti to make all kinds of shapes, together with ravioli.
Fresh Spinach Pasta for Lasagna. Like the above, however in a beautiful inexperienced hue, due to spinach.
Basic Buckwheat Pasta. Want to strive one thing a bit of completely different? This dough makes use of buckwheat to impart a country, earthy taste.
Cavatelli Pugliesi. This is one in every of the less complicated shapes to make by hand, with ridges to carry sauces. Use a ridged gnocchi board, a carved cavarola board or a extra frequent kitchen instrument equivalent to the small-holed aspect of a field grater or perhaps a Microplane.
Ligurian Corzetti. Consider these “pasta coins” — after you make and roll out the dough, you need to use a corzetti stamp or any form of embossing instrument to create a design, then use a cookie cutter to chop spherical shapes.
Ricotta Gnocchi With Leeks and Peas. Potato gnocchi may be more durable to get proper, however ricotta gnocchi is a far less complicated introduction to creating these little pasta dumplings.
Gluten-Free Pappardelle With Mushrooms. No gluten? No drawback! Take the gluten-free pasta recipe nestled inside this dish and use it for no matter you want.
A detour … for fillings!
Once you may have a pasta dough, it’s possible you’ll wish to strive your hand at making ravioli or different stuffed pastas. What can you set in there? So many issues! Consider stuffing with Creamy Fresh Ricotta, or if dairy doesn’t work for you, make a vegan model like this Tofu Ricotta or flavorful Vegan Artichoke Tofu Ricotta. You may additionally think about roasting and mashing squash for a filling, seasoning nevertheless you please. Pesto would work, too! This is a chance to get inventive — experiment with spices, zests and/or herbs to make a filling that you simply’ll take pleasure in. Lay a sheet of pasta out flat, add a tablespoon of filling each few inches alongside, lay one other sheet on prime, then gently press down round the filling and reduce out your ravioli shapes.
Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce III, pictured. Marcella Hazan is the go-to for basic Italian recipes for good purpose. This sauce is probably the platonic superb for a purple, tomato-based pasta sauce.
Big-Batch Pantry-Friendly Tomato Sauce. Make a completely monumental batch of pasta sauce that you may freeze for so many makes use of.
Classic Basil Pesto. We needed to embody pesto! This sauce has a honest, devoted fandom. If you’re a basil-pesto purist, this basic iteration sticks to custom. And if you happen to’re not? Try one thing completely different like Dandelion Greens Pesto or Mustard Greens + Pecan Pesto. Or take the center route and make Summer Tomato and Basil Pasta With Pine Nut Sauce, which basically makes use of a deconstructed pesto.
Pasta Romesco With Spinach. Romesco sauce in pasta? We say sure, as a result of it’s so scrumptious. Blend roasted purple bell pepper with garlic, tomato paste, almonds and a number of extra substances for this beautiful sauce.
Penne Alla Vodka With Chicken. Pasta alla vodka has been in and out of the development cycle for some time now. A flash in the ’90s made it a well-liked dish, then Refinery29 revealed a chunk in 2017 about how the pasta may, um, prelude romantic exercise. And then it got here again as soon as extra on social media when mannequin Gigi Hadid posted an Instagram story final 12 months to point out folks learn how to make her spicy model of pasta alla vodka. We can’t eliminate this sauce, and frankly it’s so good, we don’t wish to. Feel free to go away out the rooster if you happen to don’t need it.
30-Minute Spaghetti and Meatballs, pictured at the prime. We can’t omit spaghetti and meatballs! How else will you may have your “Lady and the Tramp” second?
Shrimp and Linguine Fra Diavolo. Spicy, tomato-saucy shrimp atop linguine from none aside from the Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten? How may you resist, actually?
Classic Ragu Bolognese. Writer Leslie Brenner was on the hunt for her excellent ragu Bolognese. This one is it. But if you happen to’d like one thing a bit of completely different, you can do this luxurious Braised Lamb Ragu or this way more weeknight-friendly Turkey and Kale Ragu.
Spaghetti Puttanesca With Cannellini Beans. Briny from anchovies, olives and capers, puttanesca is a flexible and scrumptious sauce to have in your arsenal. Include beans for additional protein, or skip them! Up to you.
Creamy Cannellini Bean Rigatoni. If you desire a creamy sauce however don’t do dairy, creamy white cannellini beans are your reply!
A detour for … pan sauces!
Sometimes you don’t desire a thick layer of sauce on all the pieces — a fast sauté of veggies, presumably with legumes, held along with a bit of emulsion of pasta water and the fats in the pan is what you need. In that case, think about following the directions in these recipes for Pasta e Lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils), Cascatelli With Green Olives, Calabrian Chiles and Lemony Tuna, Pasta With Italian Sausage, Tomatoes and Eggplant or Pasta With Caramelized Pears and Gorgonzola. Or maybe you need one thing that feels a bit of extra brothy, however may be very firmly not soup? Make Linguine alle Vongole (Linguine With Clams).
We stated a unfold and we meant it! This batch of recipes contains salad recipes so as to add recent crunch to the plate, in addition to a number of protein-heavy aspect dishes to counter vegetable-laden pastas and, after all, garlic bread. We love garlic.
Nancy’s Italian Chopped Salad, pictured. This mixture of bitter greens, umami-rich salami, chickpeas, purple onion and extra in a tangy purple wine French dressing makes you simply need extra.
Retro Caesar Salad. It’s a basic salad for a purpose! Have a easy Caesar at the desk, a nod to red-sauce joints.
Muffuletta Salad. This briny, olive-laden salad shall be a pleasant accompaniment to the desk.
Herbs and Their Stems Salad. A lightweight pileup of recent herbs shall be scrumptious, vivid counterpoint to a wealthy pasta.
Roasted Garlic Soup. Start your meal with a sizzling cup of garlic soup. Why not?
White Bean Soup With Calabrian Chile Oil. This creamy white bean soup has spicy drizzle of chile oil on prime.
Spring Vegetable Soup. A lightweight celebration of springtime’s greatest begins your meal off proper.
Triple Garlic Bread. Not simply garlic bread. We’re tripling the garlic right here with recent, roasted and powdered garlic packing a punch.
Garlicky Broccoli and Beans With Pesto. This pesto-laced bean dish is ultra-quick due to a neat blanching trick with a kettle.
Pureed Fava Beans With Crostini. Fresh fava beans make this lovely, pale inexperienced unfold for crostini. You may prime your toasts with different creamy toppings; assume Whipped Ricotta Toasts With Green Garlic, Peas and Prosciutto or Sweet Pea Toasts With Feta. You may even make a flavorful Mushroom Pâté!
Shrimp and White Bean Bruschetta. All you want for this recipe is a sheet pan and a mixing bowl! Toast your toasts (as much as two days forward), then roast your shrimp, beans and tomatoes collectively and prime these toasts.
Go on and take a break earlier than scrolling by way of your dessert menu. Sometimes, even after a wealthy, filling meal, you should still wish to fulfill your candy tooth, and who’re we to face in your method? We’ve offered choices that vary from vivid and mild to decadent.
Summer Fruit Semifreddo, pictured. When you need the vibe of ice cream with out all the work, you may make semifreddo utilizing some good-quality fruit. This one depends on summer season fruit, so bookmark it for the day when stone fruit and berries are ripe and prepared.
Tiramisu. When tiramisu is sweet, it’s elegant. When it’s dangerous … it’s actually dangerous. Thankfully, this fluffy, wealthy dessert is phenomenal.
Ricotta Cream. Listen. Don’t make cannoli from scratch. Leave that to the professionals. Make the ricotta cream that’s piped in there, although, and use pizzelle cookies as a car for scooping it up.
Amaretti Dipped in Ruby Ganache. These cookies are easy and beautiful — and a superb possibility for dipping in a post-dinner espresso. If you don’t really feel like searching down ruby chocolate, go forward and use no matter chocolate you want.
Bomboloni. These small, spherical little Italian doughnuts are the superb pop of sweetness for the finish of a meal.
Grilled Peaches With Basil Mascarpone. Light, fragrant and juicy, these beautiful grilled peaches are a vivid strategy to end your night with out sending you straight to mattress.
Granita di Caffe. An icy, coffee-based granita may be simply what you want after a sizzling meal.