Fed up with complicated recipes which never work out the way one wanted? If so try this quick and easy Italian recipe for pasta with porcini and zucchini; it won’t have you slaving in the kitchen for hours!

Ingredients: 350 g pasta; 5 zucchini; 1 garlic clove; mint leaves; 200 g porcini.

Preparation: chop the zucchini finely and then place in a frying pan with oil, garlic and mint leaves. Cook for a few minutes and then add the chopped porcini. In the meanwhile cook the pasta in slightly salted water until dente, drain and immediately stir into the hot frying pan! Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

Foto | Flickr

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If you have just come back home, are in a hurry and need to prepare a delicious a meal for your friends, this Italian recipe for pasta with tuna sauce is what you need.

Ingredients: 350 g fusilli pasta; basil leaves; extra virgin olive oil; 3 skinned tomatoes; 10 g tuna fish; chilli; salt.

Method: 1. Cook the pasta in slightly salted water until al dente. 2. Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. 3. Drain the pasta and then stir the tuna sauce into the cooked pasta.

Served immediately.

Photo | Flickr

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If you’re looking for a quick recipe for your evening meal, this Italian recipe for cold pasta is what you need.

Ingredients: 180 g pasta; boiled carots; broccoli; pesto sauce; tuna fish; two tablespoons extra virgin oil; salt .

Preparation: cook the pasta in slightly salted water until al dente; in the meanwhile in a non-stick frying pan mix the pesto sauce, tuna fish and chopped carrots. Next drain the pasta, add the extra virgin oil and then pour in the sauce you have just prepared. Stir well and let it cool for an hour or two. Delicious! If you wish, you can add anchovies or salmon!

Photo | Flickr

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With temperatures going up and heat waves on the way a quick and easy recipe for pasta fredda or cold pasta is what we need!
Ingredients: 180 g spaghetti; canned tuna, lemon juice; chopped parsley; extra virgin olive oil; salt and pepper.

Directions: cook the spaghetti in slightly salted water until al dente; chopped the tuna, add the lemon juice and stir. Next drain the spaghetti, place in non-stick frying pan and then pour in the tuna sauce. Add the chopped parsley, pepper and stir for a few secs. Remove from the heat and let it cool for a half an hour or so! This recipes serves 2!

Photo | Flickr

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I have always found tagliatelle delicious! Here‘s an Italian recipe for tagliatelle paglia e fieno or white and green tagliatelle!

Ingredients: 2 eggs: 250 g flour; 60 g spinach leaves; salt

Preparation: wash the spinach leaves, put them in a blender, add the flour and blend until mushy. Next add one egg, salt and press the button for a few secs. Remove the mixture.

Now repeat the above instructions but this time do not add spinach. Knead the two balls gently and then put them in the fridge for half an hour. Next roll out the dough and start to make tagliatelle. Cook them in slightly salted water and serve with sauce or oil!

Continue reading: Italian recipes: home made tagliatelle paglia e fieno

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Italy’s classic meatballs are very tasty and you don’t always have to have them with spaghetti. Today we look at a variation on the Italian recipe, adding some pesto which will overwhelm anything else you put in your meatballs. But if you like the fresh, tangy taste of pesto, this is a fantastic variation especially for the man in you who wants to pretend you don’t eat vegetables.

Ingredients: 600 grams of mixed mince meat, four tablespoons of pesto (better if it’s homemade pesto), four tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, one garlic clove, some chopped parsley, two tablespoons of breadcrumbs, one egg, salt and pepper.

Chop the garlic clove and add the parsley. Beat the egg slightly and add some salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together until you get a consistent kind of paste. Heat the oven to 180° C. Line a baking tray with some oven proof paper and as you form the meatballs, place them on the tray. Leave to cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes. If you want to get fancy, you can try serving them with some mustard, or try a side salad as a light, summer meal.

Photo | Flickr

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Last Sunday I prepared tagliatelle with spinach and at the end of the meal I had nothing but great compliments from my guests, so why not give it a try? The following recipe serves four.

Ingredients 200 g flour; 2 eggs; 80 g spinach.

Put the flour and eggs (plus a pinch of salt) in a food processor. Pulse briefly until mixed. Take it out and then roll into a ball. At this point cover the dough with some cling film and put in the fridge for half an hour. Next knead the dough with your hands , roll it out and then start to make tagliatelle. In the meanwhile put the spinach in the blender and turn on for a few secs. Pour the spinach sauce in a bowl, add oil and then stir in the cooked tagliatelle! Delicious!

Photo | Flickr

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We’ve seen many types of pasta in Italy and even discussed the fact that Italians will never put pasta with chicken. But here is the first case we’ve seen of the chicken-pasta combination and it comes direct from our friends at Gustoblog.

For this easy pasta dish you’ll need: 200 grams of bucatini pasta (like spaghetti but like a cylinder with a long hole in the middle), 100 g of chicken breast fillet, some fresh tomatoes, some sun-dried tomatoes, chopped garlic, half a chopped onion, salt, olive oil, four tablespoons of tomato paste, and 100 ml of broth (optional).

Cook the pasta as you would normally in salty, boiling water, and in a non-stick pan prepare the sauce, starting with the garlic and onion in some olive oil. When it’s browned, add the chopped chicken breast, then add the dried tomatoes and the tomato paste. Mix and then after a couple of minutes add 100 ml of water or the broth, and leave to cook to reduce the sauce.

Drain the pasta, toss it through the pan with the sauce and add the fresh tomatoes as decoration. If you prefer your tomatoes cooked, add them with the chicken at the beginning of preparing the sauce. If you add them towards the end, they will heat through slightly, but keep their freshness. Cherry tomatoes work particularly well.

Foto | Flickr

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Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia region is one to explore for its amazing Italian white wines, food, and interesting culture and history. What’s more, it has wonderful scenery and landscape, and is the gateway to Slovenia and eastern Europe. The mountain sub-region of Carnia is rich in natural heritage and is known as one of Europe’s most precious botanical areas, with more than 2,000 herbs and flowers catalogued.

The wild herbs of this region are rich in minerals and natural extracts, and have a flavour difficult to find in cultivated herbs and vegetables. The ancient rituals associated with using these traditional products can be discovered in the many activities organised by the Carnia territory and tourist associations, including food tastings and mountain hikes.

The local tourist board organises weekend tours called ‘Cucinare con le erbe della Carnia’ where you can participate in a guided walk, taking in the various plants and herbs of the region, and then participate in a short organic cooking course, using the herbs picked and finishing in a dinner with local dishes. The tours take place from spring through to the end of September and take three days. See the Carnia website for more details.

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It’s true that you can do just about anything with pasta, but I would never have said there were 500 types of pasta in the world. But if you’re shopping in Rome and exploring its boutique stores, you might find yourself at Pastateca - a pasta shop in the centre of Rome where you can find all kinds of homemade pasta. It would make for a perfect pasta night with friends.

While you can find the classic types of pasta and types from Italy’s rich regional cuisine, there are also aromatic kinds of pasta and some weird shapes too. If you want gluten-free or organic pasta, this is the place to come - meaning you can still indugle in Italy’s national dish.

Try the small rose-petal pappardelle or red chilli linguine, or even balsamic vinegar-flavoured tagliatelle. The shop has its own online search engine where you can play around before being assaulted in-store by all the different types. See the Pastateca search engine here.

Photos | Pastateca

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