Italian Pasta Recipes: Not Just Spaghetti

It's true that some meals with pasta as their underlying component can get very heavy

, especially when you add the thick, meat-rich Italian made sauces. You might think of the big favorite, lasagna, with its layers of meat, rich cheeses, long noodles and tomato sauces. Yet there is a lot more than just that to Italian pasta recipes, and it takes the mere seasonal progression from springtime to early summer to demonstrate that. As these seasons get underway, the lighter Italian pasta meals start emerging from their winter hibernation.

Even the name of pasta primavera loosely refers to spring. But some claim it isn't really Italian, since it was introduced to American society by Le Cirque restaurant in New York. Yet according to Foodreference.com, the chef there received it from the painter and writer of Italian cookbooks, Edward Giobbi. So it may be one of the genuine Italian pasta recipes after all. This spaghetti dish uses the first tomatoes of spring, with fresh basil, parsley and garlic, and extra virgin olive oil, making it a lovely lighter dish for the emerging springtime.

Another of the Italian pasta recipes that will work well in spring is pasta pomodoro. The flavor of this dish resides primarily in the pomodoro sauce itself, which begins with the typically Italian combination of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. Beyond those basic ingredients, you can add others to your taste, including sauteed onion, mushrooms and peppers, or even some meats. This dish is said to go especially well with poultry, so you might want to add chunks of cooked chicken to the sauce.

Another popular choice is the pasta salad, which can be as light or heavy as you want it to be. Some recipes are as simple as tossing some pasta with fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, olives and basil. There are more complicated versions as well. For example, an Italian sausage pasta salad at Epicurious.com calls for chunks of the sausage to be sauteed, adding broccoli and zucchini, with tomatoes, olives, wine and Parmesan cheese added toward the end. But pasta salads also lend themselves well to vegetarian recipes as the sausage dish could easily be adapted to be meatless.

That's something that makes Italian pasta recipes so versatile and almost universal. They can please the most voracious meat-eater, and yet vegetarians who continue to eat cheese can make just a few alterations and enjoy their own versions of the same recipes. Many of the recipes, especially the spring salads, are quick and easy to prepare. Yet someone who wants to take the time to make a rich meat sauce can turn their pasta meal into a hearty main course. Italian cuisine and pasta in particular, can serve almost any occasion and please almost any palate.

by: Shelley Lindt

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