Who can deny a good pasta and wine night? We bet, even you can’t! It is world Pasta Day today and we don’t wanna miss even a single chance to showcase our love for the good old pasta. We have assorted three of our favourite incredible pasta dishes that you can prepare today. Take the basic pasta dinner or lunch up a notch by pairing it with our amazing range of wines! Keep on reading to get set cooking.
- Prawn, Calamari and Chorizo Pasta
Ingredients:
- 450 gms linguine
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 450 g prawns, peeled and deveined
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp. crushed chilli flakes, plus more for garnish
- 600 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 60 ml white wine
- 240 ml double cream
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 150 g baby kale
- 50 g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
Ingredients:
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook linguine according to the package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving 120ml pasta water, and return to pot
- In a large pan over medium heat, heat the oil
- Now, add the prawns and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the prawns turn pink and cooked through, 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and reserve on a plate
- Add butter to the pan and then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook until fragrant for 1 minute
- Now, add the tomatoes to the pan and cook until beginning to soften 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and cook until mostly reduced 5 minutes
- Add double cream, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Let simmer until sauce is thickened, 5 minutes. Add pasta, prawns, and kale and toss to coat. If the sauce is too thick, add the additional pasta water.
2. Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 12 ounces of tomato paste
- 1.5 kg crushed tomato
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup of milk
- kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 packet of Spaghetti
- 1 lbs ground mutton keema
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet and grease with nonstick spray
- Make the marinara sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook until soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes
- Set aside ⅓ cup of the cooked onions and garlic for the meatballs and let it cool
- Stir the tomato paste into the onions and cook until browned and aromatic for 3-5 minutes
- Add the crushed tomatoes, dried basil, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes
- Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, reserved onion and garlic mixture, bread crumbs, ricotta, parsley, eggs, Parmesan, milk, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined
- Shape about 2 ounces of meat at a time into balls and set on the prepared wire rack
- Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes, until the outsides are browned and the centres are tender and juicy and reach about 155˚F
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a generous pinch of salt. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, 7-10 minutes, until al dente. Stir occasionally to keep the noodles from sticking together
- Drain the pasta and add it directly to the simmering marinara sauce. Reserve some pasta water, in case you need it to loosen the sauce
- Stir the pasta into the sauce until fully coated. Add the pasta to serving bowls, top with the meatballs, and garnish with Parmesan, fresh basil, and cracked pepper.
3. Gnocchi Pasta
Ingredients:
- gnocchi
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, extra to dust
- 2 tablespoons butter, for pan-frying
- A couple of sage leaves
Instructions:
- Add the potatoes to a large pot of cool salted water
- Bring the water to a boil and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce a potato
- Drain the potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle but still warm
- Using a peeler or your fingers, remove the skin from the potatoes
- In a medium bowl, mash the potatoes until all lumps are gone
- Add the salt and pepper and mix well. Make a well in the center of the potatoes and crack an egg into it
- Whisk the eggs briefly. Then, using your hands, gently mix it into the potatoes until evenly distributed
- Put 1 cups of flour onto a clean surface and turn out the potato dough onto it, keeping the remaining ½ cup close by in case you need it
- Working quickly and carefully, knead the dough, only incorporating as much flour as you need along the way until the dough loses stickiness and becomes more solid
- Slice the dough into 4 parts and roll out 1 part into a long rope, about 1 inch wide, cutting in half and working with 1 half at a time if the rope is becoming too long
- Slice the rope into ½-inch squares and set aside on a lightly floured surface. Repeat with the remaining dough
- If desired, place a fork on your work surface and slide each gnocchi square from the base of the fork prongs to the top so they make a decorative shape
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the gnocchi in batches, stirring gently once or twice to ensure they are not sticking
- Boil until they float to the surface; after another 15-30 seconds in the water, remove
- In a pan over medium heat, melt butter and add the sage. Add the gnocchi and toss until lightly golden
- Enjoy!
Cannot get enough of pasta? You can check out Our Best Pasta Recipes Ever!
