Pasta and Noodle Recipes & Ideas

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Pasta and Noodle Recipes & Ideas
Page 15
Recipe: Spinach and Lemon Soup with Orzo
This soup is a riff on the Greek avgolemono: a delicious concoction of beaten eggs and lemon juice, whisked into broth and cooked just enough to thicken. While I borrowed the egg and lemon motif, I also added spinach used orzo instead of the rice. This soup has one other curious feature. It really is a pasta and a soup in one — a two’fer.
Faith Durand
May 3, 2019
Quick Pasta: Jamie Oliver’s Tagliatelle with Spinach, Mascarpone, and Parmesan
If you’re planning on joining Emma in her pasta making soon, this may be a recipe to bookmark. It’s got a simple, silky sauce with mascarpone cheese and ribbons of fresh spinach—perfect for letting fresh, just-made noodles shine. Get a link to the recipe, below.A few weeks ago, we saw another pasta recipe using mascarpone in the sauce. It was a British cooking show, and the chef made a creamy sauce of mascarpone and lemon, served over spaghetti.
Elizabeth Passarella
May 3, 2019
What To Make With Whole Wheat Pastry Flour?
This whole wheat pastry flour called to us from across the co-op and we had no choice to buy a few cups for experimentation purposes. We have a few ideas for what we might make, but what would you recommend doing with this flour?Since pastry flour has a very low protein content, it’s best used in recipes that don’t rely on a lot of gluten and a lighter, crumblier texture is desired.
Emma Christensen
May 3, 2019
What Makes Bread So Special? Peter Reinhart’s Speech from the Taste3 Conference
If you’ve spent even a little time poking around the bread baking world, you have likely heard the name Peter Reinhart. As an instructor at Johnson and Wales and the author of several books on bread baking, he has built a career out of his love for bread!Our fellow Kitchn writer Dana recently sent us a link to Reinhart’s talk on “What Makes Bread So Special?” from the Taste3 Conference last July. This talk sums up everything we love about both Reinhart and baking bread!
Emma Christensen
May 3, 2019
Recipe: Fruit Dumplings (or Svestkove Knedliky in Czech)
In our family, svestkove knedliky was served as a full dinner — even though it seems more like a breakfast, lunch or side. We’d do it with plums, peaches, apricots, or cherries, and covered in lots of butter and sugar (a simultaneous eek! and yay!). It was THE dinner treat when staying with grandparents or on special occasions.
Heather Blaha
May 3, 2019
What’s the Difference? Flour, Cornstarch, Potato Starch, and Arrowroot
Last week, we talked about how starches are used to thicken sauces, puddings, pie fillings, and soups like the one above. This week, we’ll check out the different kinds of starches that get used in cooking and why you might choose to use one over the other…Starches can vary widely in terms of how quickly they thicken, how much they thicken, the quality of the thickening, and their flavor after thickening.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Product Review: Trader Joe’s All-Purpose Flour
Trader Joe’s certainly caused quite a hubbub when they decided to stop carrying King Arthur Flour and switch over to a store brand. We saw the new Trader Joe’s all-purpose flour on the shelves for the first time this past weekend and picked up a bag. Time to put it to the test!Reading the packaging information, we have to say that this flour looks promising. The flour is unbleached, which we prefer. Nothing too scary on the ingredient list.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Good Question: What is Polenta?
Susan is looking for some clarification on types of cornmeal. Can we help her out?I have a burning question! What is the difference between corn meal and polenta? Can I use regular corn meal (the stuff I use to make corn bread) to make polenta? Or do I have to track down a box that is specifically labeled “polenta”? And for the trifecta, what is masa harina? Could I use that to make polenta, or just tortillas?Susan, this is a great question and a tough one to answer.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Quick Tip: Cooking the Best Pasta for Cold Salad
You’ve heard us say it again and again: always cook pasta in a large amount of well-salted boiling water until al dente. But when it comes to pasta saladsFor pasta destined for a picnic salad, we like to do two things:1. Cook it in even more heavily salted water.2. Cook it just a little beyond al dente. When cooking pasta for salad, we usually double the amount of salt we normally put in the pasta water, adding roughly 4 tablespoons of salt for 4 quarts of water.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
22 Fast, Fresh Pasta Dishes for Weeknight Suppers
When it comes to weeknight cooking, pasta rules in our household. A hot dish of pasta, cooked up quickly, with a sprinkling of fresh cheese and herbs or a quick sausage sauce — it has all the fullness of a truly homecooked meal, with the ease of takeout. Here are twenty-two (yes, twenty-two!) pasta dishes from our archives that are fast, fresh, and just right for now.Most of these are very quick, like eat in an hour sort of quick.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Ingredient Spotlight: Acorn Noodles
I was at my boyfriend’s mother’s house the other day when she eagerly showed us a huge, heavy box of noodles she had purchased at her Korean church. These special noodles resembled buckwheat soba, but they contained an unusual ingredient – acorns!Korean acorn noodles, or dotori guksu, are made from a mixture of acorn flour, buckwheat or wheat flour, and salt. The acorn flour is ground from red or white acorns, which have been eaten in Korea since Neolithic times.
Emily Han
May 2, 2019
Learning To Love Wheat Bran
Confession: we’re trying valiantly to overcome an aversion to wheat bran. Thanks to one-too-many encounters with dense tasteless homemade bran muffins in our younger years, this is definitely an uphill battle (sorry, Mom!).But we’re intrepid cooks and willing to be convinced! How do you use wheat bran in your cooking?Wheat bran comes from the dense, outer hull of the wheat grain and is a by-product of making wheat flour.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Word of Mouth: Pumpernickel
Pumpernickel, noun – An incredibly dense and strongly flavored dark bread made with a blend of coarse and fine rye flour originating in Germany.We love the heartiness and deep, almost bitter flavor of pumpernickel bread, especially with a little sharp cheese melted over the top! Making an authentic loaf of pumpernickel is one of our winter goals, plus we think it would look lovely on our Thanksgiving table!Do you like pumpernickel bread? Ever made it yourself?
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Pasta with Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta
If you love Brussels sprouts and big bowls of pasta, this is the dish for you. This made-for-fall meal is simple enough to throw together any night of the week, yet fancy enough to totally impress friends when they come for dinner. Because we all know that these green-hued globes are better with bacon, we’re pairing wispy strands of Brussels sprouts with crispy cubes of pancetta.
Elizabeth Passarella
May 2, 2019
Good Source for Large Whole Wheat Pasta Shells? Good Questions
Q: I am on a quest to find large whole wheat pasta shells (the kind that are ideal for stuffing with ricotta and spinach goodness). I live in a relatively small town and unfortunately have had zero luck finding them online as well. The smaller shells are readily available, but I have had no luck with the large shells.Any help would be greatly appreciated!Sent by SarahEditor: We haven’t had much luck finding whole wheat jumbo shells either.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Seeking Suggestions: Ways to Use Up Leftover Tortillas?
We made a big batch of enchiladas over the weekend, but somehow we still have about a dozen corn tortillas leftover. Have any suggestions for what to do with them?At this point, we’re thinking of freezing them until the next time we get a craving for Mexican food. You can freeze tortillas separated by wax paper so that it’s easy to take out only the number needed, and we’ve heard that they re-heat well just in a dry skillet.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Try This! Spaghetti Squash Instead of Pasta
Whether you’re making an effort to eat lighter this month or just want something a little different for dinner, you’ve got to try this. We’re not sure why it took us so long to discover this buttery, tender, and yes, spaghetti-esque squash, but we’re glad we did!No, spaghetti squash isn’t exactly like spaghetti pasta. It’s more tender than it is chewy, for one thing. It also has a lighter and cleaner flavor somewhere between butternut squash and zucchini.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Kidding Around: In Praise of Silly-Shaped Pasta
As kids, a bowl of mac and cheese just seemed to taste better if the pasta was in the shape of our favorite cartoon character. As adults…well…we still love pasta that comes in silly shapes! What about you?Besides the fun shapes, we actually really like the texture of pasta like this. Because all the little corners and joints take a bit longer to cook, the outside parts get really soft. Every bite is a little squishy and a little chewy!
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Kitchen Mysteries: Why Stir Pasta as It Cooks?
Some of us probably learned the hard way that it’s a good idea to stir pasta once or twice after dropping it in the boiling water – a congealed hockey puck of half-cooked pasta is not generally what we intended for dinner! But have you ever wondered why this happens? Or why it’s a good idea to stir pasta?The way we see it, stirring pasta is a good idea for two reasons. First of all, dried pasta has a tendency to sink to the bottom of the pan right after you add it.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Dinner-to-Lunch Recipe: Peppery Whole Wheat Pasta with Wilted Chard
This recipe makes far more than enough for one meal, and the leftovers are great warmed or straight from the fridge. Hence, a dinner-to-lunch recipe! The fresh-cracked black pepper really makes the dish, so don’t be shy about laying it on.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
8 Ways to Make Any Pasta Sauce Instantly More Amazing
Pasta with basic tomato sauce is a weekly — ok, sometimes nightly — occurrence in our house. To keep things interesting, I’ll finish the sauce off with…well, whatever happens to be in the fridge! Here are a few of my favorite finishing touches for a simple bowl of pasta. I use these add-ins to finish quick stove-top tomato sauces all the time, but they can work well with just about any sauce you’re making, or even become the sauce itself.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Bigger, Better, Cheesier: The Hundred-Layer Lasagne
Here’s something to try at home: Chef Mark Ladner’s hundred-layer lasagne, served on a special menu at his New York restaurant Del Posto. Can you even imagine a hundred-layer lasagna? It’s not exactly simple…Ladner says in this interview with New York Magazine that his over-the-top, not-your-nonna’s lasagne includes “50 practically transparent sheets of handmade pasta, alternating with 50 layers of sauce (Bolognese, besciamella, and marinara).
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Grain Mills: A Good Investment?
We never even considered milling our own grain until we started doing a lot more multi-grain baking and cooking. Those quinoa and spelt flours get expensive! It sure would be nice to buy the whole-grains or nuts for these flours in bulk and grind them ourselves at home. Do any of you do this?We’ve been using our food processor to do some very basic milling. Pour in the nut or grain, give it a few good pulses, and manage to get a fairly decent flour.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Tool Crush: KitchenAid Pasta Press Attachment
Yes, that’s right. KitchenAid now has an attachment for their mixers that lets us make shaped pasta at home. We’re talking fresh spaghetti, fusilli, and rigatoni, folks. We couldn’t believe it when we saw it either! We don’t know about you, but we’re nursing a pretty serious crush on this one.This attachment is technically a pasta extruder.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Kitchen Experiments: Homemade Soba Noodles
We’ve been itching to try our hand at making homemade soba noodles ever since we came across that article about it in the LA Times. It took us a while to track down the buckwheat flour (more on that below), but we finally found some and headed straight for the kitchen!So, about the buckwheat flour. The article recommends the stone-milled buckwheat flour from Cold Mountain, but I couldn’t find this brand at any of the markets (Asian, Japanese, or otherwise) that I visited.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Cool Summer Recipe: Soba Noodles with Wilted Bok Choy
While we haven’t quite summoned the energy to try making our own soba noodles again, our love for them continues unabated! This recipe is perfect for a hot summer evening: boiling water is the only cooking required and the resulting bowl of slippery sesame-scented noodles satisfies our craving for fresh summer flavors.For this recipe, we’ve riffed on our recipe for Cold Soba, Carrot, and Sesame Salad and added a few more of our favorite fresh vegetables.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Baking Tip: Soak Whole Grain Flours Overnight
We’ve been doing a lot of baking with whole grains recently, and we see one technique pop up again and again. This is the idea of soaking the grains overnight before using them in the recipe. When it came up again in the comment thread for our Homemade Soba Noodles, we thought it was high time to learn more.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Summer Barley Salad
If you’ve ever made Barley Water, then you know you get an extra bonus when you’re done: cooked barley! Our recipe says to put it into soups but a barley salad is a delicious way to use it during the hot summer months. Think of it as a nice, wheat-free alternative to a pasta salad!It’s important to note that while barley is not a wheat product, it does contain gluten, albeit a different form of gluten than wheat. Some people have luck with this form of gluten and some do not.
Dana Velden
May 2, 2019
Quick Tip: Thicken Sauces with Pasta Cooking Water
It feels counter-intuitive to add water to a sauce in order to thicken it, but this trick works! As any Italian home cook will tell you, just a little starchy cooking water gives the sauce extra body and an almost creamy mouthfeel. Have you ever tried this?All we do is dip out about a half a cup of the cooking water just before draining the pasta. It will look cloudy and yellowish from the starch. Stir this into your simmering sauce a few tablespoons at a time.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Pantry Staples: Pearl Barley
I get a little panicky if I realize I’m low on barley. I can’t ever seem to get enough of its chewy texture or nutty-sweet flavor, and I depend it for rounding out quick weeknight meals. I probably eat more barley these days than rice! It’s definitely a good one to have in the pantry.Pearl, or pearled, barley has the outer hull and some of the outer bran removed. This gives it a more uniform shape and it’s signature polished, pearly appearance.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
New from Annie Chun’s: Brown Rice Noodles
When we first saw these whole grain and gluten-free brown rice noodles from Annie Chun’s, we were mighty curious. It’s taken us a while to get over our assumptions and learn to love whole wheat pasta, after all. How would noodles made with brown rice stack up?Quite well, it turns out! They cooked up just the same as regular noodles and showed that familiar slippery, chewy texture.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Homemade Mac and Cheese That Tastes Like Boxed?
Q: In our home we try to give the kids healthy food. They are really picky eaters and some things do not work at all — but we managed to make chicken nuggets from real chicken, and homemade hot dogs and other neat stuff which we all enjoy. But the only pasta they touch is the commercial mac and cheese dinner — no matter which recipe I try from the internet, none look or taste even remotely close to the “original”.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Bulgur for Breakfast, Anyone?
Speaking of hot breakfasts for cold mornings, what do you think of bulgur for breakfast? We’re thinking this super-quick-cooking grain would be perfect for busy mornings this fall and winter.The beauty of bulgur is that it’s technically already cooked. All we have to do is add hot liquid, let it stand for a few minutes, and it’s ready to eat. This makes it just as fast, if not faster, than instant oatmeal and definitely easier than a bowl of steel-cut oats.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
The Best Shape? Wagon Wheel Mac n’ Cheese
The other night, I was laid up with a bad kitchen injury and a dear friend offered to make me dinner. Little did I know that she’d inspire not only a cheese column but also the future of my mac n’ cheese making.My friend’s mac n’ cheese is actually her signature dish, so her skills are already pretty solid. A key element, of course, is high-quality cheese, of which she has a range of trusted picks.
Nora Singley
May 2, 2019
A Salad for Spring: Quinoa Salad from Fine Cooking Recipe Review
This salad from the December issue of Fine Cooking caught our eye because it has a little bit of everything. There’s hearty red quinoa, gouda cheese, and walnuts to satisfy our desire for deep earthy flavors this time of year. But the arugula and crisp apples are a reminder that fresh things are on the way.The full title of this recipe is “Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, and Gouda,” but those ingredients are really just the beginning.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Pasta with Cauliflower, Sausage & Breadcrumbs
This is a straightforward pasta — my favorite kind — with mostly basic pantry ingredients and a couple of things to wow it up. The breadcrumbs (poor man’s Parmesan!) might seem trivial, but don’t skip them; they add a wonderful, crunchy texture. So grab your can opener — this pasta is dead-simple and it will feed a crowd! I served this twice for dinner for two people and had it once for lunch.
Elizabeth Passarella
May 2, 2019
Make-Ahead Lunch Tip: Quickly Cool Rice & Beans on a Baking Sheet
I don’t know about you, but my evenings often involve a last-minute scramble to get the next day’s lunches prepped and portioned before bedtime. The last thing I want to do is wait around for a pot of rice or a batch of beans to cool down. That’s when I pull out my baking sheet. Grains, beans, and legumes left in the pot can take a long time to cool to room temperature. Both the pot and whatever is inside it tend to hold that heat in rather than letting it go.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Hold the Gluten: The 6 Best Gluten-Free Sandwich Breads
The latest issue of Saveur is devoted entirely to sandwiches, but they haven’t forgotten about those who can’t normally eat bread. A gluten-intolerant member of their staff tried 30 different gluten-free sandwich breads, tossing aside many sub-par slices before settling on the six best loaves on the shelves.
Anjali Prasertong
May 2, 2019
Dinner Tip: “Salt the Pot, Not the Pasta”
Even the most generic dried pasta can be turned into a tasty meal if it’s salted properly. One of the best pieces of advice I was taught in culinary school was, “Salt the pot, not the pasta.” Confused? Here’s what that clever little phrase means.The idea is to salt the water in the cooking pot just as it comes to a boil. It dissolves into the water and then pasta absorbs the salt along with the water as it cooks. You’re salting from the inside out.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Vegetarian Dining: What Can You Do With Falafel Mix?
Falafel is already one of our favorite make-ahead meal solutions for weeknight dinners. But we recently got to wondering what else we might be able to do with the pre-made mix besides cook it and stuff it in a pita. Any ideas?We found a few great ideas from the folks at Falafel Republic, who sell pre-made falafel in the natural food sections of many major grocery stores.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Lemony Pesto Pasta with Edamame & Almonds
Longer days and outdoor picnics call for an easy pasta recipe that everyone will enjoy. This dish is easy, healthy, and very elegant. In the height of summer, I love to make fresh pesto from the garden, but during the rest of the year, I cheat a little with my favorite store-bought brand. Having a nice dollop of the verdant sauce on anything from homemade pizza to sandwiches — it’s the brightness and intensity of flavor that I crave!
Leela Cyd
May 2, 2019
Make or Buy? Dried, Fresh Gourmet, and Homemade Pasta
We rely on dried pasta from the store for the majority of our pasta dishes, saving the homemade version for special occasions and dinner parties. But fresh pasta is so good! Could it be easier to whip up on a weeknight than we think?Putting dried pasta from the grocery store up against fresh pasta made at home really isn’t a fair comparison, so we thought we’d make this one a three-way contest.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Forgot to Salt the Pasta Water? Take a Tip from Chez Pim
If you ever need a reminder why salting the pasta water is key to good pasta, just wait until you forget to do it.I know because this is exactly what happened to me the other night. I took one bite of that pasta and thought my tastebuds had gone berserk. Talk about bland, boring, and tasteless noodles. Bleck.But other than eating a mistake like this and moving on, what can you do? Pim of Chez Pim has a very clever idea.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Not a Fan of Whole Wheat? Try Spelt Flour!
Whole wheat can be a tough sell. Sure, it’s super healthy and very good for us, just like our moms always said. But it can also weigh down baked goods and give them that distinctive bitter wheat flavor. Now, spelt? Spelt is the best of both worlds.As you can probably guess, spelt flour is ground from the spelt grain (which is also delicious in its own right).
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Tomato, Broccoli & Mozzarella Pasta Casserole
And just like that, summer feels like it is almost over. Beach vacations are winding down, kids are heading back to school. Getting dinner on the table becomes a less of a leisurely affair and more dependent on thinking ahead. My own fallback in such times is the pasta casserole. Yes, I wrote an entire book This vegetarian casserole comes from my garden — I had just a few ripe tomatoes, and lots of basil — and from my pantry.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Quinoa for Breakfast! 5 Sweet & Savory Ideas with Quinoa
We just can’t seem to get enough quinoa in our house. Why, we’ve even started sneaking it into our breakfasts! Sound weird? Some of these breakfast ideas might change your mind.Quinoa is really a natural fit for breakfast. Its nutty, slightly sweet flavor can go savory or sweet, and the texture of the grain lends itself to porridges and baked goods alike. If you branch out into quinoa flour, there are even more possibilities.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Chicken & Tomato No-Boil Pasta Bake
Skipping that one step makes this one-pot casserole that much faster.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Alternative Pastas: Which One is Healthiest?
Diet fads come and go. This we know for sure. In the 1980’s and early 90’s, pasta was the thing: it was virtually fat-free and perfect for filling up on quick energy without risking excessive weight gain. Or so we thought. Today most nutritionists and doctors believe in a more balanced approach, relying heavily on protein and carbohydrates along with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and healthy fats. Now the focus is on whole grains.
Megan Gordon
May 2, 2019
Can I Make Pasta in a Food Processor or Stand Mixer?
Q: Really, what’s the deal with making pasta dough? Is it really necessary to make the little well and incorporate the flour slowly, or can I just bang it in my KitchenAid with the dough hook? Will the texture be different? Is there something to the slow method or is it just tradition?Sent by EricaEditor: Erica, the goal in making homemade pasta dough is to make it as dense as possible. There should be zero air pockets in the dough when you cut into it with a sharp knife.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
What Can I Do With Chocolate Pasta?
Q: My mother in law brought back some chocolate pasta from a recent trip to Italy. I have no idea what to do with it.Any suggestions?Sent by KatieEditor: Katie, I’m intrigued by this recipe for chocolate pasta with Irish cream sauce:• Get the recipe: Chocolate Pasta at Poet in the PantryReaders, what would you do with chocolate pasta?Next question?
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Product Review: Jovial Gluten-Free Brown Rice Pasta
Gluten-free pasta doesn’t have the best reputation in the world. In most cases, I’d rather cook with gluten-free Asian noodles than a way too chewy or mushy imitation of Italian-style pasta.
Emily Han
May 2, 2019
Ravioli Maker: Should You Buy One?
Homemade ravioli is fantastic stuff, as we discussed this morning. But making it is also pretty darn messy and labor-intensive. Prohibitively so. Is it worth buying a ravioli maker to make life easier on ourselves?Making ravioli is simple enough in theory. You lay a sheet of pasta on your work surface, add scoops of filling, and seal them in with another sheet of pasta. Cut the raviolis out with a chef knife or pizza slicer and you’re done.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Does Cooking Pasta Using the ‘Passive’ Method Work?
A few years ago, I heard about an unusual method for cooking pasta on The Splendid Table radio program. The guest was Kate Heyhoe, the author of Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen and she recommended something she called the passive method as a way to use less fuel while cooking pasta to perfect, al dente doneness. What is the passive method and does it work? Read on for my discoveries.
Dana Velden
May 2, 2019
Does Salting Pasta Water Have Any Scientific Merit?
Sure salting pasta water results in tastier pasta, but does it really lead to more efficient cooking? The salt-in-pasta-water seems to be a common enough debate while making pasta at home or out with friends. Do you salt the water? How much? When do you add it? Do you think it really makes a difference? So this week we set out to research the science to see if it really does serve a wider purpose other than flavor.
Megan Gordon
May 2, 2019
Make or Buy? Tomato Sauce
Every time I walk down the pasta aisle at the grocery store, I am amazed at the sheer number of tomato sauces. Jar after jar of classic marinara, three-cheese blends, sauces spiked with Italian herbs, those without salt, and even ones with a splash of wine. With this kind of variety, is it even worth making our own?Let’s take a look at the most basic, no-frills tomato sauce. For the store-bought, we’ll use Newman’s Own Marinara Sauce.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
No Noodles: 6 Gluten-Free Ways to Eat Pasta Sauce
I have a confession: Pasta Week is killing me. For medical reasons, I am not eating wheat for 30 days, and unfortunately this is only the third week of the new diet, so mac and cheese, fall vegetable orzo, and — my favorite — pappardelle topped with a rich, meaty tomato sauce are all off-limits. But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the same long-simmered sauces I would normally eat over noodles.
Anjali Prasertong
May 2, 2019
Homemade Pasta: 5 Ways To Add Color and Flavor
Having mastered basic homemade pasta dough, we’ve started experimenting with various add-ins, from roasted vegetable purées to herbs and spices. Often times, these noodles are so pretty and flavorful that they hardly require a sauce. (On a weeknight, we’ll just toss them with olive oil and maybe a little cheese.) Flavored pastas also make fantastic gifts. Here are a few ideas…Unless otherwise noted, these ingredients may be added along with the eggs.
Emily Han
May 2, 2019
Linguine with Walnut Pesto
“Glorious” is truly the proper word to describe Domenica Marchetti’s new collection of Italian pasta recipes, The Glorious Pasta of Italy. As Exhibit A, I present to you a fast vegetarian dish with all the luxury you would find in the best restaurant in town. It’s a dish for any time of the year: linguine with a garlicky pesto of walnuts, Parmesan, and ricotta.This pasta is one of the nicest things I’ve eaten in ages.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019
Jewish Holiday Recipe: Mom’s Simple Savory Kugel
Growing up on the coast of Southern California, I was pretty far removed from my father’s native Brooklyn neighborhood. However my Mississippi-born mother made sure to close some of that distance with one delicious Jewish recipe she adapted from her mother-in-law. Savory noodle kugel is as comforting and cozy as it gets.Like all great casseroles, kugel has many variations, incarnations and riffs.
Leela Cyd
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Slow-Cooker Hearty Chicken Minestrone
The New Year brings different traditions for different folks. Some make black-eyed peas, others make firm resolutions. I make chicken stock. There’s something wonderfully industrious about making homemade stock, and this year on New Year’s Day, that’s where I found myself. I find that the soups I make throughout the year are rather predictable. In the fall, puréed soups have their day in the sun.
Megan Gordon
May 2, 2019
Spaetzle Time! Spaetzle Makers for the Home Kitchen
Spaetzle is about the most fun you can have with bowl of flour and water, a colander, and a pot of boiling water. It’s messy, but highly entertaining (and with tasty resultsThere are three main styles of spaetzle makers out there. One resembles a shallow colander that fits over the pasta pot (above, top). The spaetzle batter poured in and then pushed out through the holes with a scraper.Another version looks more like a cheese grater with a hopper attached on one side (above, middle).
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Chicken & Swiss Chard Pasta Bake
There’s something soul-satisfying about a warm casserole straight from the oven. Whether I’m making my grandma’s chicken spaghetti (made with Velveeta and Rotel) or my favorite King Ranch (from scratch), I know all served will leave with full hearts and happy stomachs. The casseroles I grew up on were definitely retro — the recipes all came from my elementary school’s cookbook Candlelight and Wisteria (I know, how Southern, right?
Nealey Dozier
May 2, 2019
A Smart, Simple Tip for Better Mac & Cheese
How would you like to give your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe a super-creamy boost? Well, there’s an easy way to make it happen. And in case you were wondering, it does not involve adding extra cheese. It’s a simple trick — maybe you’ve already tried it? Aside from the cheese, a crucial component of really good macaroni and cheese is the pasta — and it’s time to rethink how you’ve been cooking it. Instead of water, cook your pasta in milk!
Kelli Foster
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Blackened Chicken with Creamy Angel Hair Pasta
I’ve mentioned it here before and I’ll mention it again—my tastes have come a long way since high school. I lived off chicken fingers and cheese sticks in those days, with a few chocolate malts in between. (Thanks, Mom and Dad, for that high speed metabolism!) In my small Alabama town, it was a huge deal when the mass chain restaurants finally popped up along our little sliver of the interstate.
Nealey Dozier
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Springtime Soba with Miso Sauce
With the arrival of longer, warmer days, I’m craving light and refreshing meals – the kind that take advantage of new spring produce and leave plenty of energy for an after-dinner walk to enjoy the extended sunshine and new blossoms around the neighborhood. A soba noodle salad fits the bill, and this one features seasonal gifts like tender asparagus and peppery radishes, watercress, and chives.
Emily Han
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Roasted Balsamic Vegetable Pasta with Mint & Yogurt
Excited for spring but still waiting for beautiful produce to show up at the farmers’ market? Try this bridge between seasons – a creamy yet light pasta dish filled with roasted veggies and a balsamic sauce.This is a pasta salad meets dinner dish – toss hot pasta with a slew of roasted veggies and coat with a tart, sweet, and just a little spicy balsamic dressing. You’d be just fine if you wanted to stop there, but what’s a great pasta dish without something creamy?
Stephanie Barlow
May 2, 2019
Appetizer Recipe: Chilled Soba in Cucumber Cups
My favorite appetizers are simple affairs: easy to make, easy to eat. These elegant little cucumber cups fit the bill quite nicely, with the added bonus of making it appear as though they were much more difficult to make than they were. Paired with a gin & tonic, these are a total dinner party win. Cucumbers and soba are a classic pairing and one that never gets old for me.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Zesty Tortellini Salad
Pasta salad can mean a lot of things to a lot of people; down South, we’ve certainly made “macaroni salad” our own. Heirloom recipes sometimes include onions, celery, hard-boiled eggs, pickles, or sweet relish, and you can always count on a heaping dollop of mayonnaise, of course! The creamy classic certainly has its place at the table — often at a few select barbecue establishments and meat-and-threes — but other times it just seems outdated.
Nealey Dozier
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Gnocchi with Squash & Sweet Corn
I am a self-declared pasta junkie (make that Italian food junkie), but have tendency to forget all about it during the warmer weather months. I often delegate these coveted carbs to fall and winter, when I am craving a hearty lasagna or a rich bolognese. I recently had an Aha! moment when I realized that fresh summer vegetables are just begging to be paired with pastas of all kinds—and not just in the obvious pasta salad.
Nealey Dozier
May 2, 2019
Thai Recipe: Spicy Glass Noodles with Crispy Pork (Yum Woon Sen)
Among the other flamboyantly garnished and highly aromatic plates being handed around the table at a Thai dinner a few weeks ago, this one seemed rather Plain Jane. An unassuming bowl of slippery noodles sprinkled with what looked like crispy pork and crushed peanuts? But one bite was all it took — it was love at first spicy-tangy-sweet forkful. Since that fateful dinner, I’ve become rather obsessed with this Thai noodle dish.
Emma Christensen
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Japanese Cold Noodle Salad (Hiyashi Chuka)
To me, at this moment in time, hiyashi chuka just makes sense. Not only is the Japanese chilled noodle salad absolutely refreshing – a must during these sweltering days of summer – but it also features the sweetest, crispest vegetables available at the market right now: tomatoes, corn, cucumbers. Plus a light and tangy sauce that takes no time to whip up. Hiyashi is typically made with chilled ramen noodles, also known as chuka soba.
Emily Han
May 2, 2019
Recipe: Double Spinach Pasta Casserole with Pesto & Asiago Cheese
Pasta casseroles are perhaps the ultimate combination of weeknight convenience and homey comfort food. Casseroles like this one don’t take long to cook, and they can be put together the day before and baked or warmed up at the end of a long day. And yet these pasta bakes are comforting and delicious. This one has a double dose of spinach, spoonfuls of pesto, and, yes, plenty of cheese. It’s a whole meal in one dish.
Faith Durand
May 2, 2019