Pasta what to add for flavour

greenpixey

my brother boils the pasta and then put it in a frying pan with one or two eggs til the eggs are scrambled, add black pepper and then put grated cheese on top.
I havn't tried it my self but he likes it.

thriftlady_2

This was something I came up with for lunch on Saturday.

Cook some peas and broad beans together(fresh or frozen)
Chop a handful of mint
Chop a block of feta into little cubes
Add all this to cooked pasta with a generous slug of lemon oil(Waitrose do a brilliant one-really lemony,even more lemony than lemons;) )
Black pepper to taste.
Was delicious-although the kids picked out all the broad beans:rolleyes:

Quasar

Here are an Italian's tips for quick and simple pasta dressings:

1. Olio e aglio (transl: oil and garlic). Sautee some fresh and finely chopped garlic in extra virgin olive oil, with some salt. When the garlic gets golden, which will be very quickly, just toss in the pasta and mix well.

2. For a variation of the above, add half a chopped onion, also sauteed with the garlic.

3. Still using no.1 as a base, add some finely chopped fresh pepper of any colour, or all colours for a very attractively looking dish.

4. Same as above, but with chopped mushrooms. If you can afford the odd treat and get porcini (cep) mushrooms, so much the better!

Parmesan and/or ground pepper can be added to your heart's content, to all of the above.

You say no sauces, but consider melting some blue cheese adding a pinch of marjoram, and dress the pasta with it.

I should add that I only use wholemeal pasta, as this is much healthier than the white variety and remains "al dente" (firm) even when slightly overcooked.

Baggiebird1nil

Tuna and mayo yummy!!

loopyloulou_3

we add - 150g cheese, 200g creme fraiche and a teaspoon of whole grain mustard
then add roasted peppers, aubergine, courgettes, mushrooms and garlic.

MMMMMmmmmmmm my fave!

Boomdocker

Quasar wrote:

1. Olio e aglio (transl: oil and garlic). Sautee some fresh and finely chopped garlic in extra virgin olive oil, with some salt. When the garlic gets golden, which will be very quickly, just toss in the pasta and mix well.

OMG! This is my favourite meal ever, even nicer with a handful of prawns cooked in the garlicky oil. I like the prawns to go slightly golden too so that they start to caramalise..................droooooooolllll Serve a glass of white wine

wigginsmum

Butter and grated cheese - the ultimate comfort food.

greenpixey

There are some really good suggestions here. I have started to write them down now, don't think I will get bored with pasta ever again

Quasar

greenpixey wrote:

There are some really good suggestions here. I have started to write them down now, don't think I will get bored with pasta ever again

LOL, pasta is exactly like bread: it's what you eat with it that makes the dish!

Try also this: put a little extra virgin olive oil to heat up, a bit of garlic if youl like, then sautee some finely chopped mushrooms. When golden, add a pot of single cream and stir the lot until well blended. Serve on pasta and add parmesan to taste. DON'T count calories....:o

Quasar

wigginsmum wrote:

Butter and grated cheese - the ultimate comfort food.

Yes. In Italy we call this "pasta in bianco" (literally "pasta in white"). Dressed with just a dab of butter, with or without parmesan, we tend to eat this when recovering from indigestion and don't want to overload our digestive system. Butter is better than margarine because although it has saturated fats these are natural, whereas margarine is composed largely of hydrogenated fats and trans-fats, which are bad news whichever way you look at them.