Herb-crushed pasta

For ➍
400 g pasta s.a. linguine
4 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, minced
3 sage leaves, minced
1 tbs fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbs fresh thyme,chopped
1 ts fresh marjoram, chopped
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup fresh basil,chopped

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, then drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, minced bay leaf, minced sage, and minced rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few m or until fragrant.
Mix all the remaining chopped herbs together in a small bowl. Set half aside. Add the other half of the herbs to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 m. Remove from the heat.
Add the butter and herb mixture to the pasta and toss to coat. If the butter doesn't melt, return to the stovetop to heat briefly to melt the butter.
Add the remaining fresh chopped herbs to the pasta and toss to mix evenly.
Serve as is, or top with grated Parmigiano cheese. Or add fresh mozzarella and raw cherry tomatoes, or fried zucchini blossoms, or roasted heirloom tomatoes and Parmigiano...

Fennel & feta linguine

For ➋
200 g linguine pasta
1 fennel
1 banana shallot
2 tbs olive oil
15 basil leaves
100 g feta cheese

Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling, salted water, according to packet instructions.
Slice the fennel and shallot, and fry in the oil until soft.
Tear the basil over the fennel and shallot and crumble in the feta.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and combine with the shallot and fennel.

Pasta con almejas y pimientos rojos (pasta with clams & peppers)

For ➍
300 g dried spaghetti or linguine
2 cloves garlic
1 medium white or yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
8 cl virgin olive oil
6-8 cl dry white wine
500 g littleneck clams

Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente.

Rinse the clams until cold running water and remove any debris on outside.

Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. Remove stem and seeds from bell pepper and chop into small squares, 0.5 cm across. Pour a few tbs olive oil into large frying pan and sauté onion, garlic and pepper until onion is translucent. Add white wine and clams, and simmer on low, stirring often.

Add cooked and drained spaghetti to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat the pasta.

Serve immediately.

Try the similar Italian spaghetti con vongele or the quick variant.

Vermicelli with parsley sauce alla Sophia

For ➍
2 garlic cloves
12 tbs loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small onion, sliced
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry & chopped*
4 tbs brine-cured green olives, pitted
2 ts drained bottled capers
½ ts salt
¼ ts black pepper
8 tbs olive oil
1 ts olive oil
500 g vermicelli or linguine

Finely chop garlic in a food processor. Stop motor and add parsley, onion, anchovies, olives, capers, salt, and pepper. Process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil and blend until incorporated.**

Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente.

Drain well in a colander, then return to pot and toss with 1 ts oil. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl, then pour sauce over top and toss well. Serve immediately.

*Discard for a vegetarian version.
**Sauce can be made 1 h ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

From Sophia Loren's In cucina con amore.
Read more Sophia Loren recipes: Sophia Loren's raw tomato spaghetti, Sophia Loren's tiramisu.
The sauce is a variation on Italian oil & garlic sauce from spaghetti aglio e olio.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, shrimps & Brie linguine.

Shrimps & Brie linguine

For ➍ as main course, ➏ as starter
225 g Brie cheese, cubed
5 tbs sun dried tomatoes in oil, coarsely chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded & chopped
6 tbs pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 tbs chopped fresh basil
½ ts freshly ground black pepper
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
225 g linguine pasta
450 g shrimps, peeled & deveined
Parmigiano, freshly grated

Combine Brie, sun dried tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, olives, garlic cloves, basil, pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Cover and let stand 1 h.

Cook pasta in boiling salted water. 2 m before pasta is al dente, add shrimps*. Cook 2 m or until shrimps are done.

Drain pasta and shrimps.

Toss with Brie mixture.

Serve immediately with fresh Parmigiano.

*Otherwise, sauté or wok the shrimps in a little bit of oil and add them to the drained pasta.

Read tip on drying tomatoes in the oven.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, raw tomato spaghetti, spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with small clams, spaghetti with oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.