Pasta Party

I love pasta. It started with spaghetti, went on to lasagna...and off it went.

Here are six pasta recipes for a pasta party to get you through the day, including Hearty Lasagna and Chicken Spaghetti. Enjoy!

TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA PASTA

This was in the October 2016 issue Runner's World, page 45. Makes 4 to 6 servings. It is adapted from Scratch: Home Cooking for Everyone Made Simple, Fun, and Totally Delicious, by Maria Rodale. Available in October, published by Rodale, owner of Runner’s World.

This can be viewed online at http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/have-a-pasta-party-from-scratch/.

Ingredients

1 lb. pasta, such as rigatoni

5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5-6 small tomatoes, chopped

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Freshly ground black pepper

Grated Pecorino cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large bowl, combine oil, garlic, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and parsley, and gently toss. Drain pasta, add to bowl, and toss to coat, adding more oil if necessary. Season with pepper to taste, and top with cheese. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Nutrition Information: Calories per serving (for 4): 789; Protein: 26 g; Carbs: 88 g; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 8 g; Total fat: 35 g; Saturated fat: 12 g; Sodium: 157 mg

HEARTY LASAGNA

This was in the October 2016 issue Runner's World, page 46. Makes 6 to 8 servings. It is adapted from Scratch: Home Cooking for Everyone Made Simple, Fun, and Totally Delicious, by Maria Rodale. Available in October, published by Rodale, owner of Runner’s World.

This can be viewed online at http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/have-a-pasta-party-from-scratch/.

Ingredients

1 12-oz. box dried lasagna sheets

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. ground beef (or sausage or both)

6 cups tomato sauce

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

15 oz. ricotta cheese

8 oz. low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella, shredded

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook lasagna sheets according to package instructions. Drain and set aside in a single layer on parchment paper. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until golden. Add meat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until browned. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and herbs, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, and simmer sauce for 15 minutes to thicken. Spoon 1/4 of sauce onto the bottom of a 13" x 3" x 9" pan. Top with single layer of pasta sheets, followed by 1/3 of remaining sauce, making sure sheets are well covered. Layer with 1/3 each of ricotta and shredded mozzarella. Repeat twice, for 3 layers total. Top with fresh mozzarella and Romano. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Rest for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Nutrition Information: Calories per serving (for 6): 809;Protein: 56 g; Carbs: 71 g; Fiber: 7 g; Sugar: 6 g; Total fat: 35 g; Saturated fat: 17 g; Sodium: 825 mg

ONE-POT RIGATONI WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

This comes from the Tablespoon e-newsletter. It begins, “This one-pot version of the spicy Italian classic cooks the pasta in the sauce with shiitake mushrooms for even more earthy, delicious flavor.” Prep Time: 45 min; Total Time: 45 min; Servings: 8.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup sliced red onion

8 oz sliced shiitake mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, sliced

4 tablespoons spicy harissa

1 can (28 oz) Muir Glen™ organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

4 cups water

16 oz uncooked rigatoni pasta

1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

In 5-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until translucent. Add mushrooms; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and liquid is evaporated. Add garlic, harissa and tomatoes; heat just to simmering. Stir in water; heat to boiling.

Add pasta; return to simmering. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until pasta is cooked to desired tenderness. Stir in olives. Top with basil and cheese. Serve immediately. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

Is it a chicken dish? Spaghetti? Both! This yummy recipes is from Ree Drummond of The Food Network’s The Pioneer Woman, and begins, “With spaghetti and mushroom sauce, and light and dark meat chicken with bell peppers, Ree Drummond's casserole is like two meals in one. Cooking the spaghetti in the same liquid as the chicken infuses it with flavor, and the Cheddar thickens the sauce so it coats each piece of meat.”

Total: 1 hr 40 min; Active: 20 min; Yield: 8 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chicken-spaghetti-recipe.

Ingredients

1 whole raw chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 pound thin spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces

2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar

1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Two 10 3/4-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup

1 medium onion, finely diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the chicken pieces to the boiling water and boil for a few minutes, then return the heat to medium-low and simmer, 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken and 2 cups of the chicken cooking broth from the pot. When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and pick out the meat (a mix of dark and white) to make 2 generous cups.

Cook the spaghetti in the same chicken cooking broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When the spaghetti is cooked, combine with the chicken, mushroom soup, 1 1/2 cups cheese, the green peppers, red peppers, onions, seasoned salt, cayenne, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved chicken cooking broth, adding an additional cup if needed.

Place the mixture in a casserole pan and top with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover and freeze up to 6 months, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days or bake immediately until bubbly, about 45 minutes. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

FARFALLE WITH ARTICHOKES, PEAS, FAVAS AND ONIONS

This is from Martha Rose Schulman in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Martha wrote, “The vegetable ragout that accompanies the farfalle here is inspired by a more labor-intensive, longer-cooking Sicilian spring stew called fritteda. The Sicilian version would also include fennel, and a lot more olive oil.”

Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in “Pastas of Spring” and can be viewed online here.

Check out “How to Make Pasta” by Samin Nosrat.

Ingredients

Juice of 1 lemon

4 medium or 2 large artichokes, or 8 baby artichokes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound spring onions or scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 pounds fava beans, shelled and skinned

2 cups shelled peas (about 2 1/2 pounds fresh peas in the pod)

2 teaspoons chopped mint

3/4 pound farfalle

Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino (or a combination) for serving

Preparation

Fill a bowl with water and add the lemon juice. Cut away the stem and the top third of each artichoke, break off the leaves and trim them down to the bottoms, placing them in the water as you go along. Quarter them and slice large quarters about 1/4 inch thick. Save the leaves and steam them; serve them as a first course or a side dish.

Drain the artichoke hearts and dry on a clean dish towel. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy lidded skillet or Dutch oven. Add the sliced artichoke hearts and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, add the onions (or scallions) and cook, stirring, until the onions are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the peas and favas, 2/3 cup water and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until all of the vegetables are tender. Taste, adjust salt and add pepper to taste. Stir in the mint and remove from the heat, but keep warm while you cook the pasta.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to taste and the pasta. Cook al dente, usually 10 to 11 minutes for farfalle. Add a ladleful of the cooking water from the pasta to the vegetable mixture and drain the pasta. Toss with the vegetables and serve, with Parmesan or Pecorino, or both.

Tip

Advance preparation: The vegetables can be cooked a day ahead, and will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a skillet, adding pasta cooking water to moisten.

SPAGHETTINI WITH MUSHROOMS, GARLIC & OIL

This is from FamilyTime, and begins, “Regular white mushrooms are excellent here; portobellos or wild mushrooms would be great, too.”

Serves: 4; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 9 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

2/3 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound spaghettini

3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and the red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic softens, about 1 minute. Add the sliced mushrooms and the salt and cook until the mushrooms exude liquid, the liquid evaporates, and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghettini until just done, about 9 minutes. Drain and toss with the mushroom mixture, the parsley, and the pepper.