7 delish pasta recipes

I’ve been cooking heaps of pasta lately ’cause it’s comfort food and budget-friendly. But a visit to the doctor has revealed I’m ultra-low in iron (maybe my lethargy wasn’t old age or apathy after all) so I have a steak fiesta planned for the coming week, kicking off with the $5 special at the Forresters Hotel on Monday night.

I thought I’d share seven of my carby creations with you before the protein bacchanal begins. Forgive the dodgy photography – my skills have improved (slightly) over the life of the blog.

Recipe: tuna pasta bake

This was delicious on the first night, but I was kinda over it by day three … I’m still getting used to cooking for 3 rather than 4 and no longer packing leftovers for Husband’s lunch each day. A casserole of pasta bake consequently goes a looooooooong way.

2 tablespoons basil-infused olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

500g spiral pasta, boiled and drained

400g can of tuna in springwater

125g jar of pitted kalamata olives, drained

600ml passata

250g Philadephia Cream for Cooking

1 & 1/2 cups of grated tasty cheese

Method: Saute onion, chilli flakes and garlic in basil-infused olive oil until soft. Toss onion mixture in a bowl with passata, tuna and olives. Toss through pasta. Oil a casserole dish, arrange pasta mixture in dish. Dollop the Phillie cream over the top then sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in a 180C oven until golden. Serve with salad.

Recipe: Orecchiette with salmon, cherry tomatoes and olives

I had a couple of salmon fillets in the fridge the other day, but I wasn’t in the mood for my usual holier-than-thou grilled with salad option. So I came up with this pasta dish instead. Much naughtier but delish! My eldest gobbled it up too. She’s getting to be quite the little foodie. As for the youngest, she had plain ravioli with boiled veggies instead. Blah.

300g orecchiette

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 small red onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

2 salmon fillets, cut into 2cm chunks

400g can of cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

20 kalamata olives, halved

METHOD: Bring water to boil and cook pasta according to directions. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add white wine, stir for 1 minute. Add can of cherry tomatoes. Bring to simmer. Add salmon chunks, simmer until just cooked. Toss through olives. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Drain orecchiette and toss with sauce. Serve.

Recipe: Mac n’ cheese

I made this as part of a Southern banquet for my family. It was nom nom.

500g macaroni

125g butter

1 onion, minced

2 tablespoons cornflour

250ml can evaporated milk

250ml single cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 & 1/2 cups of grated tasty cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD: Cook macaroni according to directions until just al dente. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a large casserole dish. In a heavy based pan melt butter and saute minced onion until soft. Add the evaporated milk and cream. Bring to simmer. Mix cornflour with a little water and add to the pan. Stir until returns to simmer. Stir in mayonnaise. Remove from heat and stir through tasty cheese. Toss with drained pasta. Add to casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 20-30 minutes until top is golden.

Recipe: Cheesy meatballs

This recipe is dead easy and soooooo delicious. Just toss all the meatball ingredients together, roll them into balls, chuck ‘em in a baking dish and pour two jars of passata over. Guaranteed kid heaven. For my gluten-free readers, try crumbing gluten-free bread, or I reckon they’d go fine skipping the bread. Let me know how it goes.

1kg mince

1/2 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups grated cheese

2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce

2 slices of bread, crumbed

2 eggs

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 x 700g jars passata (add a little water to the bottles and shake to get the last bits of sauce out)

METHOD: Preheat oven to 180C. Mix together all ingredients bar the passata in a bowl. Roll mince mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs. Place in an oven dish. Pour over passata. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn meatballs over. Bake for another 30 minutes. Serve with pasta, if liked, or with veggies.

Recipe: Sausage & tomato bake

I invariably over-cater whenever we host a barbecue, there are always so many snags leftover. So I’ve been devising creative ways to repurpose them for the next night’s dinner. This recipe is the result of one of my experiments (also inspired by a jar of Sacla pasta sauce I got in a magazine goodie bag).

If you don’t have a barbecue on the agenda, just grill a double lot next time you have sausages for dinner and try this dish the next day.

• 300g short pasta
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 zucchini, thickly sliced and quartered
• 1 red capsicum, finely diced
• 8 leftover sausages, chopped
• 420g jar Sacla Cherry Tomato & Basil sauce
• 400g can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup grated tasty cheese

METHOD: Cook pasta and drain. Preheat oven to 180C. Heat olive oil in a heavy based frying pan. Saute garlic, red capsicum and zucchini until softened. Toss through pasta, sausages, pasta sauce and crushed tomatoes. Pour into a casserole dish and top with grated cheese. Cook for around 30 minutes until cheese is melted and golden. Serve with a salad, if desired.

Recipe: Spag bol 2 ways

Everyone knows how to make spag bol, so I feel a bit daft posting this. But it solves the problem of what to feed the kids when you want something low-carb and they want something carb-o-riffic.

INGREDIENTS: 1kg minced beef; olive oil; 600ml passata; 2 tblsps tomato paste; assorted vegies (I chose a stick of celery, a carrot, a zucchini, and a handful of cauliflower); 1 onion; 3 cloves garlic.

METHOD: Zizz the onion and garlic in a food processor. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan and gently fry onion mixture until soft. Add beef mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon until browned. Place assorted vegies in food processor with a generous slug of passata. Zizz until they are tiny. Add to pan with remaining passata and tomato paste. Add 1/2 a cup of water to passata jar, screw cap on and shake vigorously. Pour contents into pan. Add herbs as desired – I threw in some oregano and thyme leaves I had in the crisper. Simmer for a few hours. Serve with pasta of choice, parmesan, and extra veg if you really want to torture the kids. As for the low-carb member of the family, serve the bolognaise on thick slices of grilled eggplant with parmesan. Loathe eggplant? Slice zucchinis lengthways and grill them as a base. Voila, everyone happy.

Prawn, avocado & tomato pasta salad

This was the eldest’s first effort in the kitchen last week and it turned out pretty well!

500g rollini pasta

500g cooked prawns, shelled

2 tubs of grape tomatoes, halved (we used a combination of orange and red ones for colour)

1 large avocado, diced

20 pitted kalamata olives

DRESSING

125ml basil-infused olive oil

1 tablespoon of Nandos peri peri sauce (mild or hot depending on taste)

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 large clove garlic, crushed

salt and pepper to taste

METHOD: Combine tomatoes, avocado and olives in a bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a jug and stir to mix, then pour over tomato mixture. Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and add to bowl with prawn. Toss to combine and serve. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.

PS Grown-ups might like to add a dollop of pesto to zing their serving up.

What’s your favourite pasta dish to serve at home?