Meet our writers

Win $1,000

Go60 YUM - articles about food and the joys of dining
YUM articles - The enjoyment of food

Rainbow Kitchen

What’s In Your Pantry? Endless Pasta Possibilities

By Allison St. Claire
Rate this item
(0 votes)

A simple and fast dish to make as the sauce takes the same amount of time to prepare as it does for the pasta to cook.

For all those times when you just don’t want to cook anything fancy, complicated, or that takes more than a few minutes, or when unexpected guests drop by and you think there’s nothing to serve them – if you’ve got pasta, you’ve probably got a meal with just a few simple ingredients in almost everyone’s pantry.

Here are three that not only fit all the criteria above, they are also delicious. All are adapted from Geoffrey Zakarian’s My Perfect Pantry (Clarkson Potter, 2014). Zakarian uses orecchiette pasta, but any ridged or shell-shaped pasta will work well to hold the optimum amount of sauces and ingredients.        


 

With Lemon, Garlic and Parmigiana

A simple and fast dish to make as the sauce takes the same amount of time to prepare as it does for the pasta to cook. Serves 3-4

Salt (kosher or preferably unprocessed sea salt)

½ pound pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

½ tsp. black pepper

½ stick (1/4 cup) cold butter cut into small pieces

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (approx. 3 tablespoons juice)

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiana-Reggiano (or your preference of another hard cheese), plus more for serving

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

Sauce: Gently warm oil over low heat in a large skillet or heavy pan. Add garlic, pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. When garlic is soft and fragrant (before it browns), remove pan from heat and swirl in butter until melted. Add lemon zest and juice, stirring until slightly emulsified.

Scoop cooked pasta into sauce, reserving the pasta water. Toss lightly, adding a little pasta water (about 1/4 cup in all) alternately with the cheese. Return briefly to low heat to coalesce the sauce and serve. Pass additional cheese at the table.


 

With Parsley Pesto

Serves 6-8. Tastes great in the next couple of days as well as the flavors marry. Fits well into the Mediterranean diet.

Salt (kosher or unprocessed sea salt preferably)

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (since these can be pricey, try substituting almonds or walnuts to suit your taste)

3 crushed garlic cloves

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 cups fresh Italian parsley leaves (basil is also a common pesto ingredient; use approximately half the amount of parsley. Can also add fresh spinach to soften the strong herbal taste)

½ teaspoon black pepper.

Pinch of nutmeg (flavor really zooms if you can grate your own fresh)

½ cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano (or your preference of another hard cheese), plus more for serving

1 pound pasta

1 tablespoon butter cut in cubes

 

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil

Pesto: Add the nuts, garlic and half the oil to a food processor and pulse until just combined. Add the parsley (or other choice of green veggies or herbs), 1 tsp. Salt, the pepper and nutmeg. Pulse, adding the remaining oil in a slow steady stream, scraping the sides to frequently to make a chunky paste. Add the cheese and pulse just to combine.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/3 cup pasta water. Add pesto to hot pasta in a large serving bowl, plus butter and reserved pasta water. Toss until butter melts and pasta is coated with a glossy sauce. Serve immediately with additional cheese at the table for those who prefer more.


 

With Shrimp, Pancetta and Chiles

Jalapenos are a common choice for this dish; red fresnos which are slightly hotter and sweeter than jalapenos are an excellent step up in flavor but sometimes hard to find. Serves 2-4.

Salt (kosher or unprocessed sea salt preferably)

½ pound pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 ounces pancetta or bacon (Both are made from pork belly; pancetta is cured and unsmoked, bacon is cured and smoked. Both need to be cooked. You might want to rinse bacon first, if that is what you have available, to tone down the intense smoky flavor if that suits your taste better.)

4 ounces large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed and sliced lengthwise if you want them to cook faster and distribute more evenly throughout the pasta

1 medium chile pepper, seeded and sliced into thin rings

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (or other hard cheese of your choice)

½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

 

Add pasta to a large pot of well-salted boiling water and cook until al dente

In large skillet or heavy pan over medium-low heat, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil and cook the bacon or pancetta to render the fat and crisp the meat. Remove meat to drain, leave about 1 tablespoon fat, and store any remaining fat separately to flavor another dish later.

Raise heat to medium and add remaining olive oil. When hot, add shrimp, garlic and pepper flakes. Stir quickly and often so garlic does not burn, generally about 2 minutes; the shrimp should be slightly undercooked.

Remove shrimp to a warm bowl. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup pasta water. Add pasta to cooking pan, add pancetta, shrimp and reserved pasta water. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Toss and stir until the juices have combined and the shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add chile peppers, cheese and basil. Do not stir. Serve immediately.


p_allisonbonappetit

Allison St. Claire loves to dream about, study, grow, play with, prepare and ultimately enjoy eating great food.

Meet Allison