Five pasta recipes that can be prepared in under 25 minutes
Delicious fettuccini pasta. Picture: iStock
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These five delicious pasta recipes can be prepared in 25 minutes or less, and not only are they quick to make, but they are also easy to prepare and extremely tasty.
Create each recipe for each day of the week for yourself and your loved ones.
Vegans, we’ve got you covered too!
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Creamy alfredo chicken pasta
Creamy alfredo chicken pasta. Picture: iStock
Ingredients
500g of large chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to season
½ tablespoon of olive oil, to fry the chicken
1 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups of double/heavy cream
½ cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoons of garlic granules optional
3 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley, to garnish
Salt and pepper to season, if needed
300g of uncooked fettuccine or tagliatelle pasta
1 teaspoon of salt for pasta water
Instructions
Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board (use a separate cutting board for handling raw meat). Slice the side of your chicken breast but don’t cut all the way to the other side.
Open the breasts up. Cover the chicken with greaseproof paper and use a rolling pin to gently flatten it.
Season well with freshly ground salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet or frying pan and add the olive oil. Pan fry the chicken breasts over medium-high heat, until golden brown and cooked through. This can take 8-10 minutes or longer if they are thick. Use a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature has reached 75C/165F. Set the chicken aside for a couple of minutes then slice on the diagonal.
While the chicken is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and cook your pasta until al dente. Set a timer to cook the pasta for one minute less than pack instructions.
Lower the heat to medium-low. Add a tablespoon of butter to your skillet and let it melt.
Add the garlic once the butter is foaming and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Pour in the cream and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the salt and garlic granules.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted. Add the chicken and parsley.
Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce, tossing everything to combine. If you need to loosen the sauce at all then add a little of the reserved pasta water.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately!
1 jar tomato and basil pasta sauce, available from Woolworths
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 packet spaghetti or linguine noodles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until sausage is browned and vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in pasta sauce, sugar, salt, and black pepper; bring mixture to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes.
Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup cooking water. Stir chopped basil into meat sauce. Stir in up to ½ cup reserved cooking water, adding ¼ cup at a time, if needed, to reach desired consistency. Serve sauce over cooked spaghetti. Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Tuna pasta with olive oil and garlic. Picture: iStock
Ingredients
1 can of oil-preserved tuna
Sea salt
⅓ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
½-1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper or Aleppo pepper
½ cup of dry-packed sundried tomatoes, cut into slivers (soak in hot water for 10 minutes if they’re very dry)
1 packet of linguine or spaghetti
2 tablespoons of butter
Handful chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
Lift the tuna from the jar with a fork, leaving the oil in the jar. Put the tuna into a small bowl and break into smaller pieces with the fork – don’t shred too much as large chunks have a nice texture.
Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil, adding 1 tablespoon of salt per quart of water.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium low heat for a minute. Toss in the garlic, chili and tomatoes and cook just until the garlic starts to sizzle. Remove from the heat and stir in the tuna and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve ¼ –½ cup of pasta water before draining. Immediately add the pasta to the skillet along with the butter. Use tongs or two large forks to toss the pasta with the sauce, adding a bit of water to loosen the sauce (you might not need all the water).
Sprinkle the herbs over the pasta, then taste and add more salt or chilli if you like. Serve hot.
Fill a large saucepan with water, and bring to a boil. Stir in the macaroni; cook until al dente. Drain well.
Meanwhile in another large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, and mustard powder and cook 1-2 minutes.
Pour in milk and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Turn off the heat and whisk in cheese until melted.
Pour cooked pasta into the cheese sauce and stir well to combine. Serve hot.
To a blender or food processor add pressed tofu, zest and juice of 2 lemons, olive oil, toasted hemp heart seeds, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and basil. Blend/process until smooth stopping as needed to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
Prepare pasta according to package directions. When finished cooking, reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain the pasta.
Pour ¼ cup of pasta water into the lemon ricotta. Continue adding reserved pasta water 1 tablespoons at a time until the ricotta is smooth and slightly thin but still thick enough to coat the pasta.
Transfer the ricotta to the pasta pot and heat over medium-low, hot enough to wilt the spinach but not bubbling. Add in the fresh spinach leaves and cook for 3-4 minutes. Return the pasta to the pot and continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Serve the pasta warm, topped with vegan parmesan and a lemon slice. Pairs well with a side of steamed broccoli and toasted bread.