5 Must-know Pasta Recipes

Fettuccine Alfredo
Just five ingredients and you've got a homemade fettuccine Alfredo in
no time.

INGREDIENTS:
* 1 pound fettuccine pasta
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1 1/4 cups finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
* Chopped flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook 1 pound fettuccine pasta
until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving 1 cup of
the pasta cooking water. Using the same pot, melt 4 tablespoons
butter over medium heat. Add 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and 1/2 cup of
the reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Add the fettuccine
and 1 1/4 cups finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (about 5
ounces) and toss. Season with salt and pepper and add more pasta
water to make a looser sauce, if desired. Top with chopped flat-leaf
parsley and serve with more cheese.
Spaghetti with Mozzarella-Stuffed
Meatballs
Put a twist on a classic with these cheesy meatballs over spaghetti!
This tastes great with garlic bread: Melt butter with chopped
garlic and spread it on crusty Italian bread, then broil until
golden brown

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup milk or water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, 2 smashed and 1 chopped
• Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• Salt
• 1 pound lean ground sirloin
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more
for serving
• 1 large egg
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 20 (1/2-inch) cubes
• 1 pound spaghetti

Side note
This tastes great with garlic bread. Melt butter with chopped garlic and
spread it on crusty Italian bread. Broil until golden brown.

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the milk.

2. In a large, wide saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the smashed garlic and cook until golden, about 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, season to taste with salt and let the sauce
simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the beef, chopped garlic, parsley, Parmigiano-Reggiano, egg
and 1 teaspoon of salt to the soaked bread crumbs and stir with
a fork until combined. Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture
in your hand and press a mozzarella cube into the center. Shape
the meat around the cheese, forming a ball. Repeat with the
remaining meat and mozzarella.
4. Stir the sauce and raise the heat to medium- low. Carefully place
the meatballs in the sauce, submerging them completely. Bring
the sauce to a simmer and cook without stirring for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the
spaghetti, cook until al dente, about 8 minutes, and drain. Toss
the spaghetti with the tomato sauce and meatballs, sprinkle with
Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.
Two-Color Ziti Fake-Bake
For this 30-Minute Meal fake-bake, you don't need to turn on the oven
—just run the finished dish under the broiler for a bubbly, cheesy
topping.

Ingredients:

• Salt and pepper

• 3/4 pound ziti rigate, whole wheat ziti or any other short-cut
pasta
• 3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 1 bunch cavolo nero (also called tuscan kale, dinosaur kale or
lacinato kale), stemmed and very thinly sliced
• Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• 1 cup fresh ricotta or sheep’s-milk ricotta cheese
• About 1/4 cup grated onion
• One 28-ounce can italian tomatoes in puree
• A few leaves fresh basil, torn
• Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 8 ounces thinly sliced fresh mozzarella or shredded mozzarella
cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and
cook until al dente. Drain, reserving about 3/4 cup of the pasta
cooking water.

2. While the pasta is working, in a large skillet, heat about 1½

tablespoons EVOO, 1 1/2 turns of the pan, over medium-high
heat. Stir in 2 cloves garlic for 1 minute, then add the kale to wilt
to crisp-tender, a couple of minutes. Season with salt, pepper
and a little nutmeg. Transfer to a plate and reserve the skillet.

3. Preheat the broiler and position a rack in the upper third of the
oven. Place the ricotta cheese in the bottom of a casserole.

4. Place the reserved skillet over medium heat and add the
remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Stir in the
remaining 2 cloves garlic for 1 minute, then add the onion and
stir for 2 minutes. Using a blender or food processor, puree the
tomatoes. Add them to the garlic and onion and season with salt
 and pepper. Stir in the basil to wilt. Lower the heat to a simmer.

5. Add the pasta, reserved cooking water and the kale to the ricotta
in the casserole; season with salt and pepper. Top with two-
thirds of the tomato sauce, a thin layer of parmigiano-reggiano
and the mozzarella. Broil for a few minutes to brown the
cheeses. Pass the remaining sauce and parmigiano-reggiano at
the table for topping.
Not-a-Boar Meat Sauce and Pasta
"I love cinghiale sauce—a thick, savory meat sauce made with wild
boar and a hint of clove. Wild boar is not readily available in my
upstate New York supermarket, so here's an unusual fake-out. Serve
the pasta with braised kale or a spinach salad. The sauce freezes well,
so make a double batch."—Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

• Salt and pepper

• 1 pound rigatoni pasta or broken curly-edge lasagna noodles
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped or grated
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs thyme, stems discarded and leaves finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 pinches ground cloves or allspice
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and
cook until al dente. Drain.
2. While the pasta is working, in a dutch oven or heavy pot, heat
the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat until
smoking. Add the pork and beef and cook, stirring, until browned,
10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the carrot, onion, garlic, thyme, bay
leaf, cocoa and cloves; season with salt and pepper. Cook,
stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste for 1
minute, then stir in the wine. Stir in the chicken stock and milk,
lower the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5
minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
3. Stir the pasta into the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes longer.
Stir in the cheese to coat. Serve the pasta in shallow bowls.
Italian Flag Lasagna
Layered noodles, sauce and veggies take no time to assemble and
bake up into a crowd-pleasing dish.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• Salt
• Ground nutmeg
• One 28-ounce can tomato puree
• 12 no-boil lasagna sheets
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 3 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
• One 18-ounce bag shredded mozzarella cheese
• One 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
• 2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Easy does it
Grate your parmesan in a food processor fitted with a grating disk.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a small saucepan, melt the butter

over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Slowly
add the milk and cook, whisking continuously, until thickened,
about 8 minutes. Season the cream sauce with salt and nutmeg.
2. Coat the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 cup tomato
puree and cover with 4 lasagna sheets. Layer the lasagna as
follows: tomato puree, basil, zucchini, mozzarella, ricotta, cream
sauce, Parmesan and lasagna sheets. Repeat the layering, gently
pressing down each layer. Finish with a layer each of tomato
puree, basil, zucchini and cream sauce. Top with the Parmesan.
Bake until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let sit for about
5 minutes before cutting into squares.