Lotsa pasta: 4 delicious Italian recipes

1.  Wash the basil leaves and spin dry.  Place the basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and olive oil in a food processor.  Run the processor until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Transfer the contents to a mixing bowl and mix in the grated cheeses with a spoon or rubber spatula.

2.  While the pasta you will serve with the pesto is cooking, add two tablespoons of the pasta water and the butter to the pesto and mix well.  When the pasta is done, toss it with the pesto and serve at once.

Note:  Pesto can be made ahead of time and frozen for up to 2 months.  After adding the cheeses, place the pesto in a freezer-safe container and coat the surface with olive oil before sealing and placing in the freezer.  Defrost before adding the pasta water and butter.

Preparation time:  10 minutes
Total time from start to finish:  25 minutes

1.  Fill a pot for the pasta with at least 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.  Add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling water, put in the linguine, and stir until all the strands are submerged.  Cook until al dente.

2.  While the pasta is cooking, peel the tomatoes (see page 000), remove the seeds and cut into 1/4” dice.  Place the tomatoes in the bowl you will serve the pasta in together with the pesto.  Add about 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water and stir well.

3.  When the pasta is done, drain it well.  Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve at once.

Total time from start to finish:  35 minutes

1.  Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut into 1/2" dice.

2.  Place a pot for the pasta with at least 4 quarts of water over high heat.

3.  Put the chopped onion and the olive oil in a medium sauté pan and place over medium low heat.  When the onions have turned to a rich golden color, add the diced tomatoes and turn the heat up to medium high.  Chop or tear the basil into smaller pieces and add to the tomatoes.  Season with salt and cook until the tomatoes have reduced and are no longer watery, about 15-20 minutes.

4.  When the tomatoes are almost done, add one tablespoon of salt to the boiling pasta water and put in the orecchiette.  While the pasta is cooking use a peeler to shave the ricotta salata into very thin slices (it's okay if it crumbles).  When the pasta is done, drain it well, toss it with the sauce and serve, topping it with the cheese shavings.

Note:  Although I prefer to sprinkle the cheese on top, some people like to toss it in with the sauce.  Suitable alternatives for orecchiette are bucatini (sometimes called perciatelli) or penne.