Recipe ·
3 Easy & Scrumptious Pasta Recipes the Entire Family Will Love
We love pasta. We love its every shape and texture. Although both dried and fresh pasta have their best-paired sauces, fresh pasta is a cut above if you ask us. It's the smoothness, tenderness and how easily and magically it incorporates with any sauce.
That's what we love about Soffrito's fresh handmade pasta. They only use the freshest ingredients and make everything in-house here in Calgary. Trust us, you will have a hard time picking your favourite type of pasta from them, just like their loyal fans.
So we've handled the challenging part for you. We've selected 3 of our favourites, and here's how we would prepare them for busy work nights and family dinners.
1. Italian Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 350g of fresh rotini pasta
- 100-150g of salami
- 1 cup of Italian vinaigrette dressing
- 1 cup of mozzarella, cut into cubes
- 1 lb of red grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup of sliced black or green olives
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/3 cup of red onion
- 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley
- Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the rotini pasta for 3-4 minutes. Note that fresh pasta usually takes half the time to cook dried pasta.
- Don't forget to stir the pasta while it cooks to make sure they don't stick together.
- Rinse under cold water and mix with everything else.
- Refrigerate 1-2 hours, depending on your time, before serving.
2. Creamy Sweet Corn Pappardelle
Ingredients
- 350g of fresh pappardelle pasta
- 4 ears of corn, kernels removed from cobs
- 1/2 cup of yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 cup of cashews
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tablespoon of paprika or smoked paprika
- 3 cups of spinach
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of sliced basil
- 2 scallions, finely sliced
Directions:
Making the sauce
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Cook the onion until soft. Add about 40% of the corn kernels and the crushed garlic and cook for about 3 more minutes until tender. Transfer the mix to a blender and add in the paprika, cashews, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of water, 1/2 tablespoon of salt and a sprinkle of black pepper.
- Blend until creamy. Add more water as needed to achieve a pourable consistency.
Cooking the pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle pasta for 2-3 minutes. Note that fresh pasta usually takes half the time to cook dried pasta.
- Don't forget to stir the pasta while it cooks to make sure they don't stick together.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Heat the skillet and heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the remaining 60% of the corn kernels and the scallions with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper, until tender.
- Add the hot pasta, the corn sauce, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to achieve a creamy consistency. Season to taste.
- Garnish with basil before serving.
3. Ravioli Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2x 750ml roasted garlic pasta sauce
- 2x 350g of fresh ravioli
- 1 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- (optional) 1/3 chopped fresh basil
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F and grease a 9x13" cooking dish with cooking spray or cooking oil.
- Spread half a jar of pasta sauce evenly across the bottom, and layer on 1 package of ravioli. Top it with the rest of the half jar of the pasta sauce. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of parmesan.
- Add another layer of sauce, ravioli, sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
- Cover the dish with a greased aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Garnish with basil and serve.
Leave a comment