My Favorite Pasta Recipe

Today, I’m going to share a recipe from my favorite cookbook, Jamie Cooks Italy. I’m pretty sure I’d never have realized all the amazing foods this wonderful cookbook has to offer without stumbling across this page and reading about this recipe. I truly love this recipe. It has so many fresh ingredients that aren’t going to weigh you down and add to your stress levels. I always have to admit that I’m not much of a professional cook, but a catering management system I came across has me thinking that maybe I could produce this dish commercially, straight and fresh from my domestic kitchen!

I really just cook what I’ve cooked my entire life. I mean, there are some amazing pasta dishes that I actually look forward to eating. So, having a pasta dish like this is a real treat for me. The beauty of this pasta dish is that you can’t mess it up. This is a great, healthy dish for you to make at your kitchen, dining room or anywhere else you are going to be dining in that week.

For the pasta:

2 ½ lbs whole wheat pasta, cooked according to the package

1 cup chopped onion

1 ½ cups chopped green pepper

2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon sugar

1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (I really like mozzarella)

¼ cup breadcrumbs

For the cheese sauce:

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

¼ cup parmesan cheese

½ cup heavy cream

1-2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For the pasta:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta. Boil for eight minutes. Drain the pasta in a large colander. Rinse in cold water to remove any excess cooking water. Set aside. For the cheese sauce, heat the olive oil, butter and rosemary in a small skillet. Add the onion, pepper and tomatoes. Sauté until the onions and pepper are softened.

In a large pot, bring the sauce to a boil. Stir in the sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring back to a boil and cook until the sauce reaches a desired consistency.

For the pasta, toss the cooked pasta with the sauce and set aside. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and stir for about one minute. Let cool slightly and use to make a well. Add the cream and the cheese to the well. Mix thoroughly. Let it melt. Add the sauce to the pasta. Mix gently and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

For the pasta, add a splash of water to your sauce and stir. Cook for about two minutes to thicken the sauce. Add a bit more water if it doesn’t have a thick consistency.

Put the pasta on a serving plate and pour the cheese sauce over the pasta. Top with the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

This dish is rich enough for dinner, but I also love making it a lunch the next day. Then, I can eat it at lunch the following day and have something delicious to eat with my lunches.

This is a recipe that is a family favorite and my kids really love it. They are very happy that I can share this recipe with them. I’m also happy that I learned how to make pasta from my mother. I really do appreciate her and now I’m passing this family recipe to my grandchildren.

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Kelly Tate

Kelly is a full-time supermum, caring for two kids and a hardworking husband. A cook, a cleaner, a carer and all round hard worker, striving for the perfect family life (with a few bumps along the way!) Eternally honest and sometimes brutally forward, no topics are off limits with Kelly.