277705 Wed Apr 27 15:28:33 -0700 2005 47 31 Home Cooking 0 1468087 Any suggestions for simple, inexpensive non-tomato pasta sauces, apart from carbonara variations? Preferably something that could be tossed together from ingredients that were already in the cupboard? Wed Apr 27 15:28:33 -0700 2005 0 Fida 1 1468088 I love Marcella Hazan's recipe for penne with cauliflower sauce. You basically cook a head of cauliflower and divide it into florets. Then you saute some garlic and anchovies in some olive oil until the anchovies melt. Then add the cauliflower and red chili pepper, salt, and pepper. Then toss with the cooked penne and fresh parsley. I think that's it, but I'd have to look it up to be more exact. Wed Apr 27 15:32:27 -0700 2005 1468087 0 Sharon 2 1468103 oh yeah this is to die for! my mom (who's sicilian) would make this all the time when i was growing up. whomever came up with the idea of putting cauliflower and pasta together was genius. she never put anchovies in it, but i'm sure that's good. my mom also makes a great "pasta norma" which has tomato...but you could omit that. it's like the cauliflower pasta recipe above, but with eggplant instead and no anchovies. yum, i'm getting hungry already! Wed Apr 27 17:05:33 -0700 2005 1468088 0 emiloo 2 4009713 take cauliflower and cook til very soft; puree with some skim (or regular cream cheese), and thin with skim milk. sautee and caramelize some onions and garlic, then mix into the cauliflower puree along with whatever herbs you have on hand. Thu Sep 04 18:35:08 -0700 2008 1468088 15572 Emme 1 1468090 How about a simple garlic and olive oil sauce? Add-ins could be steamed or sauteed fresh or frozen veggies and/or halved cherry or grape tomatoes - veggies in small pieces, cooked 'til tender. (Better yet if you've got left-overs in the fridge.) Perhaps topped with some shaved or grated cheese, a sprinkle of salt and a healthy grind of black pepper. If you like a little heat, toss in some red pepper flakes when sauteing the veggies. Wed Apr 27 15:46:49 -0700 2005 1468087 0 Deenso 2 1468195 One of my favorite pasta dishes is just a simple spaghetti with garlic and oil. Crush a few cloves of garlic and put it with some crushed red pepper and olive oil in a pan and turn the heat up to medium. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic turns light brown. Then add the cooked spaghetti and maybe a little of the pasta cooking water to thin out the sauce. I've also added some bread crumbs to the oil to get some crunchiness in the pasta. Thu Apr 28 11:54:04 -0700 2005 1468090 0 Evan 1 1468091 Olive oil, lemon juice whisked together with sliced green olives, diced roasted red peppers, parsely, garlic, salt, white pepper. This is good for hot pasta with cubes of fish or after it's cold as pasta salad. Cream cheese and roasted red peppers and cream (to thin), oregano, cayenne pepper and salt. Melt together and blend. Good with hot pasta and steak. Also can be used with pasta and vegetables. Juice from the drippings of pan-roasting a steak. Saute mushrooms (in another pan) in butter, add garlic, Cavendar's Greek spice. Add some cream cheese (or mascarpone) to the drippings and melt in and whisk smooth. Add the mushroom mixture. You can also do this with white onions with or in plkace of mushrooms. Good drizzled on mushroom ravioli with the steak. (If you need more beef drippings, use some canned beef consomme, but don't try it without real drippings and just the consomme). And, spinach is good as a side dish with both. Both of these recipes with allow diced fresh tomaotes to be stirred in just before serving without it seeming like a tomato pasta sauce. Tomatoes have lycopene and vitamin C. Alfredo sauce Pesto sauce Northen Italian recipes are often not tomato based. Wed Apr 27 15:53:39 -0700 2005 1468087 0 kc girl 1 1468092 Drained canned tuna, capers, hot peppers, artichokes, EVO and pine nuts. Wed Apr 27 15:55:27 -0700 2005 1468087 0 AimeeP 2 4558207 YES! I looove tuna as a pasta sauce. I don't add artichokes, but I will try it the next time. Usually it is tuna, capers, and parsley. Wed Apr 01 12:31:35 -0700 2009 1468092 51490 icey 3 4677477 Tuna and artichokes were made for each other! Tue May 12 13:18:41 -0700 2009 4558207 76938 Bigley9 1 1468096 One of my favorite non-tomato, uncooked sauces is EVOO, fresh basil shards, grated parmesan, S&P, and TONS of lemon zest. You obviously have to love lemons. I like to use either spaghetti or linguine. To make it more filling, you could add canned tuna or salmon. Wed Apr 27 16:27:55 -0700 2005 1468087 0 Carb Lover 1 1468098 While we are on the subject, can anyone suggest an easy pasta sauce with the container of ricotta sitting in my frig. With some kind of veggies, too. Wed Apr 27 16:48:42 -0700 2005 1468087 0 erica 2 1468111 Ricotta doesn't typically make a good sauce because of its consistency, IMO. But, you can if you want. Wed Apr 27 17:42:52 -0700 2005 1468098 0 kc girl 3 4008811 I disagree about the Ricotta not making a good sauce. It can be delicious with crumbled italian sausage, and caramelized onions. Also tossed with peas and prosciutto. I will be making a mushroom pasta sauce tonight (I found dried mushrooms for $2.50/pkg!) I will rehydrate mushrooms in hot water. Cook up some bacon, or pancetta in olive oil, add chopped shallots and garlic. cook until transluscent. add chopped rehydrated mushrooms. Add mushroom liquid, stock or white wine to deglaze. add fresh herbs (thyme, basil, sage, parsley) add heavy cream and halved grape tomatoes (i have a billion in my garden right now) serve with parmigiano reggiano Buono appetito!!! Thu Sep 04 12:29:58 -0700 2008 1468111 126616 athina 4 4675657 Oh yes I agree! Make a smoosh of garlic or a paste, with olive oil and salt, add to that some parmesean, and then some cream or milk.mix with the ricotta cheese. Then toss your pasta. Adding basil, or parsely, it's wonderful, I use this sauce to layer a vegetarian lasagne. Well vegetarian to me, I'm not a "true" vegetarian, I just mean an all vegetable lasagne. Delicious. Or olive oil and butter, white wine, lemon juice, shallots, garlic,parsley, salt and pepper Mon May 11 22:29:54 -0700 2009 4008811 50431 chef chicklet 2 1468122 I had an Italian roommate who would often dump fresh ricotta on hot pasta along with some fresh chopped tomato and fresh basil. She'd just toss it together with salt, pepper and a little parmesean and it was very tasty. Sometimes she would add some leftover chopped broccoli. Another time I recall she added leftover green peas and some chopped mushrooms and I think either some prosuitto or sauteed pancetta (bacon would work, too). Again, very good. Wed Apr 27 19:33:59 -0700 2005 1468098 0 LindaH 2 1468143 Bake your pasta. Throw in some frozen spinach or peas, shake some parmesean. Stir in a dollop of ricotta and beaten eggs and tons of fresh chopped parsley, plus salt, pepper, nutmeg. Wed Apr 27 22:52:11 -0700 2005 1468098 0 vicki_vale 2 4010899 It couldn’t be easier, but you need very good-quality ricotta and pasta. While the pasta (short format, not spaghetti) is boiling, mush the ricotta in a warmed serving bowl with a wooden spoon. After the pasta is about half done and is throwing off starch, add some spoonfuls of its water to the ricotta and keep poking with the wooden spoon (you can also put it through a food mill, but you waste a lot). Add some freshly ground pepper and mix in some generous handfuls of freshly grated parmigiano. When the pasta is done, drain and mix it into the ricotta and serve without further ado. Fri Sep 05 08:57:25 -0700 2008 1468098 83777 mbfant 1 1468099 Make a basic white sauce: make a roux of melted butter and flour add milk/cream Add parmesan cheese = Alfredo sauce enjoy over pasta with chicken, ham, veggies Use beef broth and Add worcestershire and mushrooms then thicken with sour cream = Stroganoff enjoy over pasta with shredded beef Most cream of soups (muchroom, chicken, celery) make a great quick base for non-tomato sauces (although tomato soup works, too) Wed Apr 27 16:49:30 -0700 2005 1468087 0 EAF 1 1468101 Whenever I don't have many ingredients in the fridge or just don't feel like cooking to much, I make this version of cacio e pepe: Heat up equal amounts (about 2 tablespoons) butter and olive oil, and lots of freshly ground pepper. Add a tablespoon or two of teh pasta cooking water, then add the pasta to the pan and stir. Once it's covered in the sauce, take off the heat and stir in plenty of freshly grated parmesan and some salt. Enjoy! Wed Apr 27 16:54:31 -0700 2005 1468087 0 jbeck 1 1468114 These really aren't sauces, but I make them fairly often: -This one is for when I don't feel like cooking: toss pasta with butter, toasted pine nuts, salt and pepper -Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and s&p. Add some sliced avocado, toasted pine nuts, some feta and sliced green onions. It may not sound like much, but my husband asks for it all the time. Sometimes I make sort of a Mexican version with lime juice instead of lemon, Queso Fresco instead of feta, toasted pepitos instead of the pine nuts and add some black beans and corn (preferably dry-roasted in a hot skillet) and maybe some cilantro. Wed Apr 27 18:14:18 -0700 2005 1468087 0 Jane Hathaway 1 1468134 Nigella Lawson made a simple pasta sauce with garlic olive oil and pancetta. I can't remember the exact recipe but it went something like this: - Equal quantities of pancetta and pasta - I use 8 ounces. Enough for two servings. - Garlic olive oil 2 Tbs or so - you can add more as needed Oven at 400 or 500. Cut the pancetta into cubes and combine with garlic olive oil in a baking dish. When the water for the pasta comes to a boil put the pancetta in the oven and the pasta in the water. By the time the pasta's done the pancetta should be as well. Save some of the pasta water in case you need it to loosen up the pasta. Combine the pasta with the pancetta and make sure it's fully coated. You can top with parmesan. It tastes great and is easy to make. I keep the pancetta in the freezer and make this when I want something home cooked but don't want to put in much effort. My grocer sells pancetta sliced thinly in packaged bags so I cut it into ribbons instead of cubes - if find it's easier to eat with linquine or any other long pasta strand. Wed Apr 27 20:50:42 -0700 2005 1468087 0 BookGirl 1 1468162 saute some onions in olive oil/butter till they get really gooey and caramelized. Add garlic about 3 or 4 minutes in, if you want. you can add a variety of vegs to this. i've tried cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, peas, chillies... cut the vegetable up small and let it just cook thorough. add in your cooked pasta and stir. season with salt and pepper and whatever herbs you like (depending on the vegs, maybe thyme, basil, marjoram). take off the heat and add cheese. i love to add a really soft cheese, like taleggio, because it melts easily and makes the dish very rich and flavorful. Thu Apr 28 04:16:46 -0700 2005 1468087 0 kristen 2 1468230 marcella's smothered onions are like this - only take an hour and require no constant stirring from you. 1.5 pounds onions, finely sliced, 2TBS olive oil, 2TBS butter, pinch salt. Chuck it all together in a pot, put over very low heat, cover and leave for 45min. Uncover pan, turn to med-high heat, until onions are golden-brown. Season, add 1/2glass white wine, and stir until evaporated. This is quite sweet, so at the very least needs some chopped parsley to balance it. Other additions: crumbled blue cheese, or browned sausage meat. Mmm... Thu Apr 28 13:58:41 -0700 2005 1468162 0 kate 1 1468181 I've recently been enjoying Dreamfields pasta and allowing myself to eat pasta more often. So, I've been experimenting with all kinds of sauces besides tomatoe based. Basically can put just about anything with pasta since it is a neutral flavor. There is a book by James Peterson entitled "Sauces" and you might find that inspiring. Just this morning, I used the rest of the elbow pasta from yesterday (Dreamfelds again) and made this sauce to pour on it: TBsp butter and saute 1 TBsp green onion Add 2 oz Neufchatel 1/4 C. lite coconut milk 1/8 tsp white pepper 1/8 tsp salt 1/16 tsp and a dash of Chinese Five Spice Stir to blend smooth then placed beside the rest of the poached salmon in a bowl with the pasta and poured the thin liquid over the elbow macaroni pasta. You can also make it in the microwave if you want. Serves two, depending Thu Apr 28 10:44:25 -0700 2005 1468087 0 kc girl 1 1468194 I make a pasta w/porcini mushroom sauce from Cook's Illustrated, this is the recipe from my memory: rehydrate 2 oz. of porcini mushrooms in hot water to cover for 20 minutes. coarsely chop mushrooms and strain liquid. saute a chopped onion in butter/olive oil until soft, add mushrooms, saute a minute, add the reserved liquid, cook about 8 minutes or so, until reduced by about half, add 1/4 c of cream, cook a few minutes, salt, pepper, parsley. toss w/1 lb cooked pasta and some parmesan cheese. serve w/add'l cheese. i like to add truffle oil on top if i have any around. i keep the dried porcinis around for this very purpose, of making a pasta that i don't have to out shopping for. another good one is pasta w/garlic, capers and bread crumbs, epicurious link below. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/14597?epiSearchPage=http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/find/results?search=pasta+capers+garlic+bread+crumbs&x=7&y=10 Thu Apr 28 11:54:03 -0700 2005 1468087 0 melissa 1 1468234 If you like roast garlic, it makes a good tomato-free sauce base. EPI has an orzo recipe with it and poppyseeds, which is a lovely side dish. In Northern Italy, pretty much anything can be a pasta sauce, and most don't have cream or tomatoes (which seem to be a given in pasta sauces I've had in other countries). Take your veg of choice, and lightly cook it (steam broccoli, fry mushrooms, boil petit pois). Then fry it (if not already fried) in a bit of olive oil, maybe garlic and/or pancetta, S&P. If it is still chunky, mash/puree half of it then mix with the chunky half. Toss with pasta, and maybe a bit of parmesan and parsley. Simple, and lets the clean veggie flavours do the talking. You can get more complicated, and do more than one vegetable, or add some fried bacon, browned sausage meat, etc. or an interesting cheese (smoked, blue, etc.), or some other herbs or spices, but that's the foundation to work with. Thu Apr 28 14:05:49 -0700 2005 1468087 0 kate 1 4008972 Saute chopped garlic in the oil from a tin of tuna, then add the tuna, capers, black olives (Italian or Greek, halved), and parsley. Toss with pasta. Thu Sep 04 13:24:08 -0700 2008 1468087 221993 Channa 1 4009150 I find the key is to have good stuff in your freezer. I always have: already chopped pancetta peas chicken stock in 1/2cup containers pine nuts caramelized onion in 1/2 cup containers You can also freeze pesto without the cheese and oil and add those once defrosted. My cupboard/freezer pasta specials: - sauteed garlic and pancetta, with peas and a soft, fresh cheese (ricotta, mozzarella) or shavings of something a bit older and nutty (love gruyere) - Saute onions and garlic. Add some finely sliced beef or veal (optional) and cook, then remove from pan. Saute sliced mushrooms. Return meat to pan (if using) and Add 1/2 cup chicken stock and a generous splash of sherry. Reduce until lightly thickened and velvety. toss in cooked pasta and lump of butter. Sooo yum. - Breakfast pasta: Crisped pancetta or bacon, lightly sauted onions and garlic, left over steamed veg if you want. Toss with chopped tomatoes or a small splash tomato sauce or baked beans from a can (classy hmm?) to heat up. Adding a separately scrambled egg optional. Toss with roughly chopped arugula before serving. - Make a thick pasta-chickpea soup by sauteing an onion, a bit of garlic (chopped rosemary is a good addition too if you have it) adding a couple tins of drained rinsed chickpeas and covering with stock (or even water - in that case, I like to saute some carrot in there too). Cook until you can mush the chickpeas against pot sides with a wooden spoon. Puree half of this (an immersion blender works well to), add dried pasta (small sturdy shapes best, or broken linguine lengths). Simmer until cooked. Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and some shavings of hard cheese. Thu Sep 04 14:23:54 -0700 2008 1468087 10431 Gooseberry 2 4009389 The Barefoot Contessa's lemon pasta with argula is amazing. It requires a small container of heavy cream, but you reduce it by half so it is more of a coating than a thick sauce. It's also great cold the next day. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-fusilli-with-arugula-recipe/index.html Thu Sep 04 16:00:46 -0700 2008 4009150 83766 brendastarlet 1 4009617 One of my favorite cookbooks of late has been 'Italy's 500 Best-Ever Recipes', Hermes House Publishing. This a large format, picture book from an UK publisher, which I found at clearance prices at used-book store. It has about 60 pages of pasta recipes, many without tomatoes. Thu Sep 04 17:49:28 -0700 2008 1468087 12139 paulj 1 4009663 olive oil, garlic, anchovies, red pepper...... mmmmmmm this summer i've been doing a deconstructed pesto (as well as regular pesto) i cook garlic slow and low in olive oil 'til it softens, toss the pasta w/ the garlic oil, shredded or chiffonaded (?) basil, toasted pine nuts, cheese, lack pepper and salt various pestos (not just basil based) and tapenades (olive pesto really) work well i often just toss pasta w/ odds and ends... a bit of leftover smoked pork chop, some olives or pepadews, some herb or green, nuts, whatever..... pasta loves leftovers. Thu Sep 04 18:12:06 -0700 2008 1468087 135229 thew 1 4009716 coat eggplant slices, onion slices, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, etc in garlic salt, then grill til soft and charred-ish, then chop. saute with some balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and a little lemon juice and mustard... so simple and so good with pasta or shiritakis... Thu Sep 04 18:37:04 -0700 2008 1468087 15572 Emme 1 4009726 A while back, when responding to a thread about peposo, an Italian beef shank dish, I found that About.com had a good section on Italian cooking. Here's the pasta and sauces index. http://italianfood.about.com/od/pastarecipesandsauces/Pasta_Recipes_and_Sauces.htm Practically at random I picked: Pasta di San Giuseppe, which calls for: - spaghetti - breadcrumbs - olive oil - parsley, minced - sugar - cinnamon http://italianfood.about.com/od/creamsauces/r/blr1592.htm Thu Sep 04 18:41:48 -0700 2008 1468087 12139 paulj 1 4009780 We like hummus on/with pasta. Thu Sep 04 19:08:52 -0700 2008 1468087 169792 lgss 1 4009935 My quick pantry pasta is clam linguine. A couple tablespoons of olive oil, some red pepper flakes and a couple cubes of frozen garlic (I always have this in my freezer - from Trader Joes.) Add one can of chopped clams, let simmer to reduce a few minutes, toss in some parsley, fresh or dried, and serve over linguine. Thu Sep 04 20:25:05 -0700 2008 1468087 12947 gmm 2 4558094 I second that suggestion. If I want a thicker sauce, I start with a quick roux, just 2 tbs. butter and 2 tbs. flour, cook until golden, then add the garlic, clams, and some white wine. This is probably one of my favorite meals ever. Wed Apr 01 12:03:52 -0700 2009 4009935 279213 cookingandkitchenstories 1 4010001 I've seen variatons on this in both Nigella Lawson's and Deborah Madison's books. I think it probably Roman in origin? Basically, you warm a few tablespoons of olive oil and cook thinly sliced zucchini with a little salt on medium heat until it begins to disentegrate, about thirty minutes. At this point, I add a quarter cup of whole milk and a generous amount of fresh grated pecorino romano. Add up to a half cup of the salted pasta water if it looks dry, and let the almost cooked pasta spend about three minutes tossed in to absorb and marry the flavors. It's simple but very good. Oh, and it's also great with garlic and/or fresh basil. I often sauce pasta with ratatouille or red pepper based sauces, too. Peeled, cubed eggplant can be cooked much the same as the zucchini, as can yellow squash or a mixture of yellow and green. I haven't tried the milk with the eggplant, though, as that somehow seems off. The cauliflower anchovy sauce is great with raisins, too. Thu Sep 04 20:58:05 -0700 2008 1468087 24126 amyzan 1 4010235 From the NY Times, 1/31/2007, p. D5: SPAGHETTI AL LIMONE 1 lemon 1 1/2 cups dry white wine 3/4 - 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, to taste 1 lb spaghetti 3 T butter, in pieces 3 1/2 - 4 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated 1 - 2 T EVOO S&P to taste 1. Zest lemon and slice zest into matchsticks. Juice lemon, strain and reserve. Place zest in large nonreactive pan with wine and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to med. high and cook until it reduces to a syrupy mixture, about 1/4 cup, about 10 min. 2. Remove from heat and pour in about 1/4 cup of cream. Stir, then pour in remaining cream. Return to stove and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until it is thickened and reduced slightly, about 5 min. Remove from heat. 3. Meanwhile, bring large pot of generously salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente; reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain. 4. Return hot pasta pot to stove. Pour in cream, butter and lemon juice, stir, then add hot drained pasta and a few T of cooking water. Toss together and add cheese in 3 or 4 parts, tossing each to meld with sauce. Add more cooking water if sauce is too thick and crumbly. 5. Ladle onto plates and drizzle each portion with OO, then add a little salt and pepper. 4 - 6 servings Fri Sep 05 00:42:49 -0700 2008 1468087 10483 Joebob 1 4013662 Walnut sauce! Sat Sep 06 14:00:12 -0700 2008 1468087 131149 Jetgirly 1 4557629 I made a nice one last night. Cubed an eggplant and tossed it on a baking sheet with some cherry tomatoes, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper and roasted it at 400 until nice and soft (20 minutes?). I wrapped three cloves of garlic with the skin still on in some aluminum foil (with olive oil) and threw that on the baking sheet as well. When it cam out I smashed the garlic and tossed it with the pasta, veggies, and a little pasta water. Topped with some parm. Delicious. Could've used some basil, but delicious. Wed Apr 01 09:59:39 -0700 2009 1468087 157661 hollyd 1 4558371 pancetta and broccoli or pancetta/parsnips are great combos -- cook them down as the water is boiling and just toss all the pasta in the pan of cooked veg when it's al dente with a bit of the pasta water. Wed Apr 01 13:17:19 -0700 2009 1468087 272313 meganmarie 1 4675401 A friend made this for me shortly after the recipe was published, a great warm weather pasta recipe: From the Washington Post, May 15, 2002: Tagliolini Alla Erbe (Tagliolini With Lemon, Basil, Oregano and Marjoram) Tagliolini Alla Erbe (Tagliolini With Lemon, Basil, Oregano and Marjoram) The Washington Post, May 15, 2002 Cuisine: Italian Course: Main Course Features: Fast, Meatless Summary: Traditionally served as a first course, this lightly dressed pasta can also make a meal on a sultry evening. The pasta is only speckled with herbs; you could easily double the amount of sauce ingredients and not overdo it. Or make extra sauce and reserve some to toss with seared shrimp or sea scallops, and serve atop the pasta. "Some herbs, such as sage, rosemary and bay leaves, can withstand long cooking. For this recipe, however, the dressing is to be prepared raw, in order to preserve as much as possible the flavor of these more delicate herbs. The choice of the pasta, tagliolini (flat, thin fresh noodles), is also meant to keep the taste of the pasta from overwhelming the flavors of the dressing." 4 servings Ingredients: Pinch salt 2 large strips lemon zest, or to taste 1 clove garlic, peeled 20 basil leaves 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram 1 pound fresh tagliolini or tagliarini pasta (may substitute dried spaghettini or vermicelli) 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Directions: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, on a large cutting board, chop together the lemon zest and garlic. Add the basil, parsley, oregano and marjoram, and mince until the mixture is of uniform size. (The amount of herbs depends largely on personal preference, but err on the side of excess.) Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. When it is done, use a large fork to transfer it to a bowl (rather than draining it through a colander, which would cause it to clump together). Sprinkle the herb mixture onto the pasta, drizzle with the oil, toss and serve immediately. Recipe Source: From "Soffritto: Tradition and Innovation in Tuscan Cooking" by Benedetta Vitali Mon May 11 19:59:34 -0700 2009 1468087 12752 MsDiPesto 2 4676165 good pasta will not clump. i make a similar dish, but with fresh lemon juice as well. when basil is abundant, i chop that with some fresh mint. cook the pasta. drain. into the hot pot add lemon juice from 2 or 3 lemons, their zest, olive oil, salt, lots of black pepper and red chili flake and the chopped herbs. toss in the pasta and combine everything. cover and let sit a few minutes so the pasta absorbs the juice. grated pecorino on top, possibly prosciutto, and you're good to go. Tue May 12 07:03:48 -0700 2009 4675401 30273 hotoynoodle 1 4675429 I can't compete with the delicious recipes here, butt presuming you have butter and parmesean, and can handle the cholesterol, my favoriteSaveur magazine recipe is the following : Mixing the ingredients on a warmed platter will help them melt quickly to make a satiny sauce. For the best results, use dried pasta, which doesn't break as easily during tossing as fresh egg pasta does. 1 lb. dried fettuccine 1⁄2 lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks) 1⁄2 lb. finely grated parmesan (about 3 1⁄4 cup) 1. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, cut butter into thin pats and transfer to a large, warmed platter. Drain pasta, reserving 3⁄4 cup pasta water, and place the pasta over the butter on the platter. 3. Sprinkle grated parmesan over the pasta and drizzle with 1⁄4 cup of the reserved pasta water. 4. Using a large spoon and fork, gently toss the pasta with the butter and cheese, lifting and swirling the noodles and adding more pasta water as necessary. (The pasta water will help create a smooth sauce.) Work in any melted butter and cheese that pools around the edges of the platter. Continue to mix the pasta until the cheese and butter have fully melted and the noodles are coated, about 3 minutes. (For a quicker preparation, bring the reserved 3⁄4 cup pasta water and the butter to a boil in a 12" skillet; then add the pasta, sprinkle with the cheese, and toss with tongs over medium-low heat until the pasta is creamy and coated, about 2 minutes.) 5. Serve the fettuccine immediately on warmed plates. Mon May 11 20:12:26 -0700 2009 1468087 11931 Phood 1 4676289 One of my favourites is simply browning a stick of butter over medium heat, adding it to some cooked noodles and loading it up with Parmigiano-Reggiano - serve a couple of barbecued Italian sausages and a light salad on the side, and you've got some good eats. It will probably give you a coronary, but meh... Tue May 12 07:41:06 -0700 2009 1468087 292018 snowles 2 4677190 There are some awesome non-tomato based sauces on CHOW that you should check out. A couple of my favorites are Linguine with Clams and Chorizo: http://www.chow.com/recipes/14121 and Beet Greens and Feta Pasta: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11402. Tue May 12 11:55:14 -0700 2009 4676289 48651 kramos 1 4677765 I made some pasta tonight with a spinach and asparagus pesto that was simply divine. I mixed boiled asparagus (not the tips, which I used for serving), chopped raw spinach leaves, roasted almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Tue May 12 14:50:44 -0700 2009 1468087 240789 Paula76