CARBS ARE KING, and chief among them is pasta (OK potatoes too… and yes you can combine them). Even in the summer heat. Italians eat pasta all summer long in the cauldron that Rome and Southern Italy are subjected to.
Pasta is fast and delicious, and most pasta dishes are also super frugal. Once you get a few classic recipes under your belt you are good to go with even the most basic ingredients in your fridge. For summer I tend to stick to vegetable based dishes or seafood. Light, bright and fast.
There are a couple of important things to note: always season your pasta water with salt as dried pasta has no seasoning, and always taste your pasta sauce before seasoning it at the end.
Let’s go!
Carbonara is such a simple dish and one of the Roman classics. The first and most important thing to know is that there is no cream in carbonara. None! That silky sauce is egg yolk combined with cheese (pecorino or parmesan).
Put your pasta on, I like spaghetti for this. Use two large egg yolks and two tablespoons of finely grated parmesan per person. Whisk these together in a large bowl or pan, big enough to accommodate the spaghetti too. Next fry your bacon, approximately 50g (in Rome, guanciale is used – bacon made from the cheek of the pig – but we can substitute pancetta or streaky bacon) and fry it over a medium heat until it is has released some of its fat.
When the pasta is done, strain it and add it to the egg yolk and parmesan in the bowl stirring it super quickly and making sure to coat the pasta. It is important to do it in the cold bowl so that you don’t scramble the egg. Stir through the hot bacon and fat and you are good to go.
You can make this veggie by following the above and substituting courgette for bacon, or you can just add it to the original recipe. Add chilli flakes and oregano for some extra layers of flavour. Fresh basil gives it lovely flavour too.
Pasta with vodka? Have I lost my mind? Trust me, this is a traditional Neapolitan dish. This makes enough sauce for two people.
Start by gently sauteing a finely chopped onion in some olive oil until soft (this will take at least 10 minutes over a low heat but it is worth the wait). Add a tin of tomatoes and cook for another 20 minutes. Add two tablespoons of single cream and stir through. Put your penne (250g) on towards the end of this. When it is cooked stir through 3 tablespoons of butter and pour 100ml vodka over. Add the sauce and stir through.
This is another traditional Neapolitan pasta, or at least my take on it, as taught to me by a friend from Naples.
Start by sauteing two finely chopped cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add one average peeled and diced potato (1 cm dice) and stir through. Add 600ml chicken stock, 125g soup pasta (any small shape) and some finely chopped rosemary or thyme, and cook until the pasta is al dente. The potato will take the same amount of time. Simple and most excellent comfort food. Add bacon and greens if you like, to give it an extra Irish twist.
Defrost some frozen raw prawns and leave to the side. Put your linguine on to cook and start your sauce by frying two finely chopped cloves of garlic in olive oil.
Add three chopped tomatoes and some chilli flakes and cook until the pasta is almost done over a medium high heat. Add the prawns for the last minute and cook until pink, stirring as they cook. Stir through some basil and add the cooked linguine.
This fiery hot pasta sauce is perfect for summer. Use your pasta of choice (penne is a good one). Start your sauce by frying two cloves of garlic and two chillies, finely chopped, in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. After a minute add a tin of chopped tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes, cooking your pasta so that it finishes at roughly the same time. Finish with lots of basil.
Put your spaghetti on and fry two finely chopped cloves of garlic and one chilli in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add your crab with lots of flat leaf parsley and chives. Stir through the pasta.
Shop-bought gnocchi is perfectly acceptable here but you can of course make your own. For two people use one packet, and one loop of chorizo.
Dice your chorizo and fry with some finely chopped garlic in some olive oil until tender. Stir through a few handfuls of kale (strip the leaf from the stem) and add 50ml cream and 1 teaspoon of paprika. Stir through the cooked gnocchi with a splash of the cooking water and serve with lots of finely grated parmesan.
The humble aubergine reaches a state of grace as the star of this gorgeous dish. For two people, start with two finely chopped cloves of garlic and saute them in olive oil.
Add a diced aubergine (about 1 cm dice) with a teaspoon of dried oregano and some chilli flakes. Add one tin of tomatoes and about half of the tin in water and cook for 20 min, stirring occasionally. While the sauce is cooking, cook some spaghetti. Combine the pasta and the sauce and serve with lots of pecorino or parmesan.
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