Italian dishes

twinsmommy31

twinsmommy31

Veteran
Joined
5 Jan 2015
Local time
5:33 AM
Messages
22
What is your favorite Italian dish to make? I have a fabulous lasagna recipe that includes 6 different cheeses. The whole pan gets eaten every time.
 
Once upon a time I might have said lasagna, but I haven't made one in a really long time. A little over a year ago I discovered salmorglio. It's a magical "raw sauce" that you make from lemon zest, olive oil and herbs. It's soooooooooooooo good! Once you make it you want to have it all the time. Another thing I've started doing is making basil puree with olive oil and tossing it with pasta and/or sauteed shrimp. Mmmmmmmm!
 
My favourites are Spaghetti Bolognese and Pasta Carbonara. I love carbonara as a change to all the tomato-based dishes I tend to make and anything that involves bacon is a winner. bolognese sauce is cheap and easy to make, freezes well and can be used for a lasagne as well.
 
I do love a good Italian dish but to be honest I haven't banked up enough courage to actually make one myself. Please do share some of your recipes so that I can finally get to cooking some good old Italian dishes.
Thanks.
 
elles-belles said:
I do love a good Italian dish but to be honest I haven't banked up enough courage to actually make one myself. Please do share some of your recipes so that I can finally get to cooking some good old Italian dishes.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
By Italian do you mean pasta or something else?

Here is a very simple spaghetti dish.

Make up your favourite cheese sauce
In a seperate pan fry some chopped smoked bacon and sliced mushrooms until the bacon is crispy.
Throw the fried bits in the warm cheese sauce and mix. Chuck in the cooked spaghetti, mix and eat.

You need a lot less sauce than you think, a mistake many make, including several resteraunts I've been into, is to use too much sauce and drown the pasta - just a coating is enough.

I assume in the US you csn buy pots of ready made pasta sauce, well if I'm pushed for time I will use a simple bought tomato sauce and throw in other stuff to make it my own.

Seafood is good, bacon and mushroom of course, chorizo and chilli, or skin and break down sausages then fry them with chopped onions and garlic until they brown then add the ready made tomato sauce for a simple ragu.
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
A simple mushroom risotto can not be beaten, the best comfort food.
Click to expand...

This. It simply can't be beaten. Barring that, I love my Fettuccine Alfredo and authentic home-made Alfredo sauce. So damn tasty.

Barring that, I like a hearty meatsauce and pasta. With more meat than sauce, like you said as well. A light coating will do.
 
I love preparing spaghetti or fettuccine with plain tomato sauce and basil. It is super easy, delicious and everyone loves it. It takes me about 15 minutes to prepare!
 
elles-belles said:
I do love a good Italian dish but to be honest I haven't banked up enough courage to actually make one myself. Please do share some of your recipes so that I can finally get to cooking some good old Italian dishes.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

It's so easy! It's also a lot more simple than people realize because traditional food isn't about all those modern bells and whistles. Just start with your favorite pasta (cooked) and toss it in a little tomato sauce with some fresh basil. You can grate a little Parmesan cheese top, and voila. Next time add sauteed mushrooms, or zucchini/courgette.
 
Wow, ChanellG you make it seem so easy to do! I will be experimenting with this at the weekend and I am now confident that I will blow my guests minds away.
Thanks for the tips.
 
elles-belles said:
Wow, ChanellG you make it seem so easy to do! I will be experimenting with this at the weekend and I am now confident that I will blow my guests minds away.
Thanks for the tips.
Click to expand...

You're welcome! It is totally easy to do! Do you like basil? You can take about a cup of basil and puree it in a blender with some olive oil and then toss your pasta in that instead of a tomato sauce. Italians don't drown their pasta in sauce the way Americans do. You could also saute shrimp, add the basil puree and then toss in the pasta. This would also work with cubes of tofu or strips of tempeh for those who are vegetarian.
 
I enjoy basil a lot and actually wondered how that would pan out earlier when I was at the grocery store! Great, I will definitely put the basil to good use and maybe also throw in some olive and peppers just to mention a few and put it all in the pasta for a nice salad or even meal! I like the tofu and tempeh ideas as well. I wonder why I haven't done this before, it's so easy and sounds fun to prepare as well as delicious.
 
elles-belles said:
I enjoy basil a lot and actually wondered how that would pan out earlier when I was at the grocery store! Great, I will definitely put the basil to good use and maybe also throw in some olive and peppers just to mention a few and put it all in the pasta for a nice salad or even meal! I like the tofu and tempeh ideas as well. I wonder why I haven't done this before, it's so easy and sounds fun to prepare as well as delicious.
Click to expand...

It really is so easy and delicious, and you don't even have to make a sauce to enjoy your pasta! You could simply do a primavera with a quick saute of onion, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, fresh tomato, etc, and then toss it all with the pasta. Olives and or cheese can also be added to this. There are so many fabulous possibilities! Enjoy!
 
The Italian Spaghetti is one of my favorite and I serve it with meatballs. For my Lasagna I put toppings of sliced mushroom, bacon bits, spam bits,bell pepper with cream and melted cheese. These are my favorites and it always makes me feel satisfied when I am eating these kind of Italian dishes.
 
Spaghetti is the favorite in this house, I mix the ground beef with ground turkey or italian sauage to the tomatoe sauce. Add garlic bread and a salad and we are readdy to eat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom