Fancy Made Easy: Elegantly Simple Recipes for Your Favorite Pastas
These pasta dishes may look too fancy for everyday, but they're actually quick and easy to prepare, relying on simple ingredients with bold flavors.
These pasta dishes may look too fancy for everyday, but they're actually quick and easy to prepare, relying on simple ingredients with bold flavors, like roasted eggplant with goat cheese, Brussels sprouts with Gorgonzola, and a broccoli rabe–walnut pesto.For more inventive, easy pasta dishes, check out our collection of everyday pasta recipes, or take a look at these wonderfully easy lasagna recipes.
1
Quentin Bacon
Pasta Perfection
While spaghetti and marinara sauce will always be satisfying, we're trying to spruce up your basic notions of how pasta can be prepared. Pasta has so much potential; we're making the most of that here! What's more, these gorgeous recipes are all easy to make but feel gourmet. Try the Fusilli with Creamed Leek and Spinach or Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna for starters.
2
Dave Lauridsen
Buckwheat Pasta with Summer Squash, Tomatoes, and Ricotta
Chef Travis Lett likes buckwheat pasta for its added richness and texture. At the restaurant, Lett cuts the fresh pasta into rough rag shapes and tosses it with summer vegetables; this simplified version uses dried pasta.
Recipe: Buckwheat Pasta with Summer Squash, Tomatoes and Ricotta
3
John Kernick
Orecchiette with Greens, Mozzarella, and Chickpeas
Crispy fried chickpeas and spices make an unique topping for an otherwise basic pasta dish.
4
John Kernick
Spaghetti with Sun-Dried-Tomato-Almond Pesto
This Mediterranean dish from Marcie Turney is quick, simple, and utterly delicious.
5
John Kernick
Spicy Tonnarelli with Clams
This spicy pasta studded with fresh clams is a tantalizing dish that's also quick and easy to prepare.
Recipe: Spicy Tonnarelli with Clams
6
Quentin Bacon
Fusilli with Creamed Leek and Spinach
With just five ingredients (plus olive oil, salt, and pepper), this pasta is fast, simple, and satisfying.
7
Quentin Bacon
Linguine with Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Tomatoes
A decadent yet simple pasta dish, this linguine with shrimp is elegant and filling but so easy to make.
Recipe: Linguine with Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Tomatoes
Recipe: Linguine with Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Tomatoes
8
Quentin Bacon
Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna
The judges of the Best Pasta Poll on FoodandWine.com applauded the rusticity of this gooey lasagna, packed with cheese and sausage. The style is called free-form because the pasta can be arranged in different ways — for instance, folded over the filling — instead of traditionally layered.
Recipe: Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna
Recipe: Free-Form Sausage-and-Three-Cheese Lasagna
9
Quentin Bacon
Orecchiette with Pancetta, Peas, and Fresh Herbs
In just 25 minutes, you can have dinner ready for as many six people with this quick and hearty pasta dish coated in a creamy Pecorino-Romano cheese sauce with jalapeño and peas.
Recipe: Orecchiette with Pancetta, Peas, and Fresh Herbs
Recipe: Orecchiette with Pancetta, Peas, and Fresh Herbs
10
Quentin Bacon
Penne Rigate with Brussels Sprouts and Gorgonzola
Tossed with sliced Brussels sprouts, red onion, and red fresh chile, this pasta dish is full of bold flavor, making it an irresistible dinner option. Top with Gorgonzola cheese.
Recipe: Penne Rigate with Brussels Sprouts and Gorgonzola
Recipe: Penne Rigate with Brussels Sprouts and Gorgonzola
11
Quentin Bacon
Fusilli with Roasted Eggplant and Goat Cheese
Spiraled fusilli pasta is tossed in a light lemon–olive oil sauce with spicy red pepper, toasted pine nuts, roasted eggplant, and slightly melted goat cheese to make an enticing vegetarian dish.
Recipe: Fusilli with Roasted Eggplant and Goat Cheese
Recipe: Fusilli with Roasted Eggplant and Goat Cheese
12
Quentin Bacon
Linguine with Broccoli Rabe–Walnut Pesto
Broccoli rabe adds a subtle bitterness to this earthy pesto, made with garlic, toasted walnuts, and grated salty Pecorino cheese. The pesto would also work well on a wider noodle, like the ribbon-shaped trenette, which is the classic shape for pesto.
Recipe: Linguine with Broccoli Rabe–Walnut Pesto
Recipe: Linguine with Broccoli Rabe–Walnut Pesto
13
Quentin Bacon
Lasagna with Mushrooms and Lamb Sausage
This gourmet version of a home-style favorite takes a new spin, adding merguez (lamb sausage), oyster and shiitake mushrooms, and truffled pecorino cheese.
Recipe: Lasagna with Mushrooms and Lamb Sausage
Recipe: Lasagna with Mushrooms and Lamb Sausage
14
Quentin Bacon
Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine
This tender veal ragù is flavored with white wine, capers, thyme, and rosemary, then tossed with the little ear-shaped orecchiette. "The meat, the capers — they hang on to the pasta when you lift up your fork," said judge Marc Vetri of the Best Pasta Poll on FoodandWine.com.
Recipe: Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine
Recipe: Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine
15Quentin Bacon
Penne Rigate with Spicy Braised Swordfish
The tomato sauce here — with big pieces of flaked swordfish and slivers of jalapeño — gets nicely absorbed by the penne. And, judge Michael Schlow of the Best Pasta Poll on FoodandWine.com adds, "There's a good proportion of tomatoes and fish to pasta, and it all comes together so well."
Recipe: Penne Rigate with Spicy Braised Swordfish
Recipe: Penne Rigate with Spicy Braised Swordfish
16Dave Lauridsen
More Fantastic Pasta Ideas
Get more ideas for updating your favorite dishes with these Food and Wine collections:
Fast Weekday Pasta Dishes
More Quick Pasta Recipes
Baked Pasta Dishes
Fast Weekday Pasta Dishes
More Quick Pasta Recipes
Baked Pasta Dishes
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