Miso butter pasta with mushrooms

For ➋

120-200 g spaghetti

400 g oyster mushrooms

pinch of chili flakes

40 g walnuts or pecans, chopped

clove of garlic, crushed to a pulp

30 g butter

1 tbs white miso

1 tbs lemon juice

salt & black pepper

Cook the spaghetti in salted water until al dente.

Cut the mushrooms into pieces and fry together with the chili flakes and chopped nuts in some oil over a medium heat until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Lower the heat, add the crushed garlic clove and stir-fry for 30 s before adding the butter and miso to the pan. Mix until the butter has just melted and deglaze with lemon juice and 100 ml of the pasta cooking water. Let it simmer until you have a smooth sauce.

Turn the heat very low and add the drained pasta to the pan. Mix about 1 m very well so that each strand has a nice layer of sauce and the sauce is almost completely absorbed. Add a few tbs of extra pasta cooking liquid while mixing if the sauce becomes too dry.

Divide the pasta between plates and season generously with freshly ground black pepper.

Mushroom & lemon pasta

For ➍
3 tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

7 cloves garlic, finely chopped

250 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

250 g pasta (penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, farfalle)

250 ml vegetable cooking cream

1 tbs thyme

½ ts black pepper

1 tbs nutritional yeast flakes*

1 tbs miso paste

100 g cherry tomatoes, cut in half

15 g basil + extra for garnish

zest 1 lemon

1 tbs lemon juice

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbs oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Bake for 10 m, stirring, until most of the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated.

Add the cooking cream, thyme, black pepper, nutritional yeast*, miso paste, tomatoes, basil, the lemon zest and lemon juice to the mushrooms. Stir and let simmer for 2 m. Then add the pasta and 1 tbs olive oil.

Garnish with extra basil and possibly vegan Parmigiano*.

* Replace with Parmigiano for a non-vegan version.

Spaghetti alle cozze (spaghetti with mussels)

For ➍

2 kg fresh mussels 

3 cloves garlic 

15 g fresh flat parsley 

300 g spaghetti 

3 tbs traditional olive oil

15 cl white wine

425 g canned diced tomatoes

1 ts chilli flakes

Rinse the mussels under cold running water. Remove the mussels that are broken or left open when you tap them. Drain. Cut the garlic into slices. Remove the parsley leaves from the sprigs. Finely chop the leaves and sprigs, but keep them separate from each other. 

Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the package. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the garlic 1 m. Add the chopped parsley sprigs and fry 1 m. 

Turn up the heat and add the mussels. Add the white wine and let it steam for a while. Add the polpa and chilli flakes and toss well with a large spoon. Put the lid on the pan and let the mussels stew for 3 m, until all the shells are open. 

Drain the pasta and toss through the mussels. Add half of the chopped parsley leaves. Let it cook for another 2 m on low heat, until the pasta has absorbed the sauce. 

Remove any empty shells. Sprinkle with the rest of the parsley.

Pasta with samphire tapenade & sea spinach

For ➍
tapenade:
100 g samphire
1 handfull unsalted cashew nuts
1 clove garlic
4 tbs olive oil, extra virgin
juice ½ lemon (or more to taste)
pepper
pasta:
500 g spaghetti
100 g sea spinach
1 clove garlic
3 hands of sun-dried tomatoes
olive oil
shaved lamb's cheese or pecorino

For the tapenade, wash the samphire and cut the garlic into large pieces. Pour the olive oil into the food processor, adding a handful of the samphire. While turning, add the rest of the samphire, the garlic, and the lemon juice. Also add the cashew nuts and turn into a coarse pasta. Season with pepper.
Wash the sea spinach and cut the garlic into small pieces. Put the wok on the fire and let it get well hot. Pour some olive oil in the pan and add the garlic. Then quickly sprinkle the sea spinach in the wok and stir-fry very briefly while constantly stirring.
Cook the spaghetti al dente. When the spaghetti is ready, stir in the tapenade. Put the spaghetti on the plates and carefully mix the sea spinach and the sun-dried tomatoes into the pasta.
Toss small pinch of pepper and possibly some olive oil and some cheese on the pasta

Roman carbonara

For ➍
10 slices of guanciale, chopped (or pancetta)
500 g spaghetti
knob of butter
1 ts black peppercorns
5 egg yolks
1 egg
3 tbs young pecorino romano, softly grated

Cook spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water
In a sauté pan, heat a knob of butter, then put in the guanciale or pancetta and fry until golden and crispy. Take off the heat, and lift out to a warm plate, so that it stays crunchy.
Put about a teaspoonful of black peppercorns into the pan and crush with a meat hammer or the end of a rolling pin, then add a couple of spoonfuls of the cooking water from the pasta and stir it around to take up all the bits of guanciale or pancetta which may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Beat 5 egg yolks and a whole egg in a warm bowl with 3 tbs of grated young pecorino romano.
1 m before the spaghetti is ready, start to mix in a ladleful of the cooking water at a time until the eggs and cheese become creamy.
Drain the pasta (but reserve the cooking water) and toss it in the pan of pepper, together with the reserved guanciale or pancetta.
Add a little more cooking water if the pasta seems too dry, then transfer it to the bowl of eggs and cheese and toss well, until coated in the silky mixture. The heat of the spaghetti will cook the eggs without scrambling them. Add more black pepper, if you like.

This recipe of Giorgio Locatelli uses guanciale, which comes from the pork cheek, and has less fat than pancetta. Don’t cut it too finely or regularly, as you want a nice chunk to bite into every now and then amid the silkiness of the egg.
Some people add the eggs and cheese to the pan, but it is easy to underestimate the heat of the pan, and the danger is always that the eggs will scramble. So I prefer to mix the eggs and cheese in a warm bowl and then tip in the hot spaghetti, which will cook the eggs but keep their silkiness.
The classic spaghetti carbonare recipe, with links to similar recipes.

Zuni Cafe pasta alla carbonara

For ➍-➎
4 or 5 thick slices (140 g) bacon, cut into small segments
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
4 large or 5 small eggs, at room temperature, beaten
½ cup (10 cl) fresh ricotta cheese, at room temperature
450 g spaghetti, penne, or bucatini pasta
¾ cup shucked sweet English peas or mature sugar snap peas or double-peeled favas
50 g pecorino romano or pecorino sardo, grated
salt & freshly cracked black pepper

Warm the bacon in the olive oil in a sauté pan over low heat. It should gradually render a little fat, which will mix with the oil.
Meanwhile, lightly beat the eggs with the ricotta.
Drop the pasta into 6 quarts rapidly boiling water seasoned with a scant 2 tbs salt. Stir, and cook until al dente.
When the pasta is about 1 m from being al dente, add the peas or favas to the water, and raise the heat under the bacon. Cook the bacon until it is just crispy on the edges but still tender in the middle. Turn off the heat, slide the pan from the heat, and swirl it a few times to cool it slightly.
Drain the pasta, shake off the excess water, and slide the pasta and peas or favas into the pan of bacon; you’ll hear a discreet sizzle. Place back on the burner (the one you used to cook the bacon, which should still be quite warm). Immediately pour the beaten eggs all over the steaming pasta, add most of the pecorino and lots of cracked black pepper, and fold to combine. Work quickly so the heat of the noodles, bacon and bacon fat slightly cooks the eggs. The eggs and ricotta will coat the pasta and form tiny, soft, golden curds.
Serve in warm bowls and offer the remaining pecorino and black pepper.

Try the original recipe. Or a Japanese fusion recipe.

Spaghetti with avocado sauce

For ➍
170 g spaghetti
1 avocado,pitted & peeled
½ garlic clove, smashed
½ bunch scallions, roughly chopped
juice of ½ lemon
5 cl extra-virgin olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup chopped parsley, for garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, 6 to 8 m.
While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the avocados, garlic, scallions, lemon juice and olive oil until smooth.
When the pasta is tender, reserve 5 cl of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the reserved water to the avocado mixture and process until smooth.
Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, portion the pasta onto plates and garnish with parsley.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca 2 (Naples' hookers' spaghetti)

For ➍
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
salt & black pepper
1 50 g can anchovies packed in oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs tomato paste
½ ts crushed red pepper
750 g box or can chopped or crushed tomatoes
2 tbs drained capers
100 g pitted black olives, chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh basil
grated zest of 1 lemon
340 g spaghetti or other pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 m. Add the anchovies and garlic and cook, stirring, until the anchovies disintegrate and the garlic has softened, 2 to 3 m. Add the tomato paste and continue to stir for 1 m, then add the tomatoes, capers, and olives. Cover the pot, adjust the heat so the mixture simmers gently, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s thick and saucy, 25 to 30 m. Stir in the basil and lemon zest, and taste and adjust the seasoning.
When the water for the pasta comes to a boil, salt it generously and add the pasta. Cook until al dente, usually 7 to 8 m, depending on the package instructions. Reserve about 25 cl of the pasta cooking liquid and then drain the pasta.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, adding the reserved cooking liquid as needed to thin out the sauce. Serve.

Variant & history:Spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana (Amatriciana pasta)

For ➍
500 g bucatini or thick spaghetti
100 g pancetta or guanciale, diced*
100 g ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded & chopped
½ onion, minced
pepper, seeded & shredded
10 cl olive oil
freshly grated pecorino Romano

Set the pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet, add the diced meat, and cook until it browns, stirring the pieces about. Remove them to a sheet of absorbent paper with a slotted spoon and keep them warm.
Add the onion to the grease in the pan, together with the hot pepper. When it begins to color, add the well drained tomato pieces. Cook, stirring, for 5-6 m, then return the diced pancetta to the pot and heat it through. Drain the pasta while it's still a little al dente, turn it into the skillet with the sauce, cook 1 m more, stirring the pasta to coat the strands.
Serve with grated pecorino.

*Bacon is not a good substitute, because it is smoked and also contains sugar not present in either pancetta or guanciale.

Named after the city of Amatrice in northern Lazio, Amatriciana sauce derives from a much older sauce called La Gricia, which the shepherds used to make by sautéing diced guanciale so gently as to keep it from browning, and adding freshly boiled pasta, a healthy dusting of pepper, and grated pecorino Romano. The Amatriciana sauce, with tomatoes, was initially enjoyed by the nobility, because only they could afford tomatoes.
In Amatrice, it is prepared without onions, which is not typical of standard recipes from outside the area.

Spaghetti alla carbonara (coal miner's wife's spaghetti)

For ➍
400 g dried spaghetti
175 g piece smoked pancetta (at least 0.5 cm thick), rind removed*
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped**
handful flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
3 large free-range eggs, beaten***
7 cl white wine***
50 g pecorino Sardo maturo cheese (mature Sardinian pecorino), finely grated
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Bring 4 l of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 8 ts of salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for 9 m or until al dente.
Meanwhile, cut the pancetta into short little strips, about 0.6 cm wide.
Heat a large, deep frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil and the pancetta. Fry until lightly golden. Add the garlic and parsley and cook for a few s, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Drain the spaghetti well, tip into the frying pan with the pancetta, garlic and parsley, add the beaten eggs and half the grated pecorino cheese. Toss together well.
Season to taste with a little salt and black pepper. The heat from the spaghetti will be sufficient to partly cook the egg, but still leave it moist and creamy.
Serve in warmed pasta bowls. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

*Belly-meat, not to be confused with ordinary ham.
**Or cut cloves in half, add to the heated oil, remove after finishing the sauce.
***Use only the egg yolks and add white wine to the pancetta, garlic and parsley mix.

Although associated with Lazio, the region around Rome, the origin of this recipe is uncertain. Some say it was taken from Umbria to Rome by revolutionaries in the 19th century; other people say it belongs to a Neapolitan noble, Ippolito Cavalcanti, who published it in a book.
This dish could derive from the union of ingredients and ideas between the U.S. soldiers, arriving in Rome in 1944, and the chefs of the local restaurants. The soldiers supplied bacon and powdered eggs, the chefs their fantasy. This was the version became widely spread after WWII in America and Europe, most of the time with cream (and eventually mushrooms) added to the sauce, making it look and taste like fettuccine Alfredo, an hybrid American-Italian pasta favourite. The charcoal in the name refers to the baking of the bacon. This recipe is close to that favoured by the official Accademia Italiana della Cucina.
Read more on American-Italian hybrids: fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti alla puttanesca, chicken Marsala, white pizza, American Italian spaghetti with meatballs & tomato sauce.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, 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, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.
Read the Japanese fusion recipe for pasta carbonara. Or an American café version.
Use the Roman version with guanciale, cured pork cheeks.

Spaghetti alle vongole in bianco (spaghetti with clams)

For ➍
450 g spaghetti (or linguine)
1 kg fresh vongole (carpet shells)*
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbs olive oil
½ dried red pepper, crushed (or ½ ts cayenne)
salt & pepper
bunch of parsley
2 peeled & seeded (canned) plum tomatoes**
(white wine or white vermouth)

Scrub the fresh clams well. Let them sit in salted water for several hours, so they can purge themselves of sand. Boil them in just a little bit of water***, or steam them. When they open, drain them and stir them, with shells, into the sauce.

Start cooking the spaghetti in a separate pot.

Make the sauce by gently sautéing the chopped garlic and the chilli pepper in the oil in a large pot, adding the parsley when the mixture starts to brown. Don't let it burn. (Add the tomatoes)**.

Add 2 tbs of the clams' cooking (or canned) juice to the mixture. Add clams to the mixture and cook for 1 m.

Drain the spaghetti, and stir it into the sauce.

Serve with a glass of slightly chilled white wine.

*Use defrosted frozen clams instead, or 200 g bottled or canned clam meat. You can also use mussels.
**Optional: add tomatoes to have a richer sauce (but it will hide the clams' taste) (and it will be no longer a white sauce).
***Use a small glass of white wine or white vermouth instead.
****Use half the quantities for a starter.

A quicker recipe for spaghetti con vongele, with cooked vongele. Try the similar Spanish version.
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 oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Cacio e pepe (spaghetti with cheese & pepper)

For ➍-➑*
4 tbs olive oil
500 g dried spaghetti (or the thicker tonnarelli)
2 tbs butter
120 g Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated**
1½ ts finely ground black pepper
salt***

Cook spaghetti in well-salted water in a large, wide-bottomed pot. Drain spaghetti, reserving 30 cl of pasta cooking water.

Dry out your pot, then heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add drained spaghetti and 20 cl of pasta water. (This will splatter, so step back).****

Add butter, 80 g of cheese, ground pepper and toss together with tongs. Taste, adding more pasta water, cheese, pepper or salt (which should not be necessary, as Romano is very salty) to taste.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with cheese and an extra grind or two of black pepper.

*4 as a main course, 8 as a starter.
**Use a mix of Pecorino and the smoother Cacio di Roma.
***Optional.
****To minimize spattering, add butter first. You can add pepper to the oil. A very basic variant would be to avoid the oil, add the cheese and some cooking water to the pasta, finishing it with the pepper.

'Cacio e pepe' is a classic from the Rome region. As usual, there are a zillion ways to make it.

Sophia Loren's omelet Napoletana

For ➍-➑*
150 g spaghetti
50 g unsalted butter
8 large eggs
3 tbs olive oil
1 tbs whole milk
⅛ ts freshly grated nutmeg
¼ ts salt
¼ ts black pepper
75 g ham, cut into 0.5 cm dice
50 g fresh mozzarella, cut into 0.5 cm dice
10 g finely grated Parmigiano cheese

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well in a colander, then return to pot and immediately toss with 2 tbs butter.

Lightly whisk together eggs, oil, milk, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ham and mozzarella in a bowl.

Preheat broiler.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Cook egg mixture, lifting up cooked edges with a heatproof spatula to let raw egg flow underneath, until set on bottom and almost set but still moist on top, 3 to 5 m. Arrange spaghetti over eggs, pressing lightly with spatula to help pasta settle into eggs, then sprinkle with Parmigiano.

Broil omelet 10 to 15 cm from heat until top is pale golden, 2 to 3 m.

Cut into portions. Serve immediately. Add some tomato sauce if wanted.

*4 as main course, 8 as starter.

This recipe comes close to a frittata, the Italian oven finished omelet. Read more Sophia Loren recipes & history: tiramisu, vermicelli with sauce or spaghetti. Picture shows her as a Naples' Materdei neighbourhood pizza maker in Vittorio di Sica's “L’Oro di Napoli”.

Scallops & rucola pasta

For ➍
12 scallops
400 g spaghetti*
50 g rucola
50 g Parmigiano cheese*
1 red bell pepper
½ lemon
thyme
olive oil
salt & pepper

Peel the red pepper. Remove seeds and cut the red flesh into cubes.

Bake the pepper in 1 tbs of olive oil on low heat. Add the thyme. Bake 5 m. Set aside.

Cook spaghetti al dente uncovered in salted water.*

Cut the scallops very cold in 3 fine slices**.

Drain the pasta*. Add a dash of olive oil, rucola, diced peppers, a few drops of lemon juice and pepper. Let the rucola shrink for a few m on low heat.

Serve the pasta* on warm plates. Put the thin slices of raw scallop on the pasta. Garnish with Parmigiano shavings.

*Serve with cheese ravioli and omit the Parmigiano.
**Don't slice the scallops and bake them slightly.

Read the scallops tip.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, 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, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

A quick spaghetti

For ➍
500 g spaghetti
4 slices pancetta (½ cm thick)
12 small tomatoes
3 onions*
1 clove garlic
bunch arugula or rucola
bunch fresh basil
100 g pine nuts
Parmigiano cheese
5 cl olive oil
black pepper & salt**

Put a large pot of water on the fire. Add a generous portion of salt and bring water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook the spaghetti al dente, 7-8 m.

Scatter the pine nuts in a fireproof dish. Toast them under a hot grill until golden brown, 2-3 m. Shake a few times to colour the seeds evenly colored.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges.***

Chop the onion and garlic. Heat olive oil. Cook them without browning.****

Cut pancetta into strips. Add to the onions mix. Reheat.

Add tomato chunks, be careful to keep the chunks intact while warming.

Drain the pasta. Add the pasta into the mixture of onion, garlic, pancetta and tomatoes. Add black pepper.

Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Just before serving, add the rucola and basil leaves.

Sprinkle the pine nuts over the pasta. Add some shavings of Parmigiano cheese.

*Use large shallots instead.
**Salt can be omitted, as the pancetta and the Parmesan already contains salt.
***When using larger tomatoes, peel and deseed them.
****Put a lid on the pan.

Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: 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, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Spaghetti with vegetables & ricotta salata

For ➍
2 large eggplants
500 g small tomatoes, or canned plum tomatoes, drained
6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
8 tbs salt
400 g spaghetti
4 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ teaspoon crushed dried chillies
large handful fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
100 g ricotta salata, finely grated (or feta cheese, crumbled)
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Cut off the tops and bases of the eggplants. Cut across into 2. Cut each piece lengthwise into sticks. Place into a colander and sprinkle with 1 ts of salt. Place the colander over a bowl and leave the eggplants for 30-40 m to disgorge some of their juices.
When using fresh tomatoes, squeeze them over the sink to get rid of most of their juices and seeds. Coarsely chop the tomatoes.
Pat the eggplants dry with kitchen paper to remove the salt and excess juices.
Heat 4 tbs of the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add ½ the eggplants pieces and fry, turning occasionally, until golden-brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and place onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Repeat for the remaining eggplant pieces.
Remove the pan from the heat to allow the oil remaining in the frying pan to cool.
Place 4.5 l water into a large pan and bring to the boil. Add the salt, then the spaghetti and cook until al dente.
Shortly before the spaghetti is ready, add the remaining olive oil and the garlic to the frying pan and return it to the heat. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the crushed chillies and the tomatoes and cook over a high heat for 2-3 m.
Add the eggplants and season .
Drain the cooked spaghetti. Add to the sauce.
Add the basil and ½ of the ricotta salata or feta. Mix well.
Spoon equal portions of the spaghetti and sauce into 4 warmed bowls and sprinkle each with the remaining cheese.

All ricotta (meaning 'recooked') varieties are Italian fresh whey cheeses, made from the leftover from the production of mozzarella, pecorino or provolone. To ferment the whey it is heated to make it curl. Then it is heated a second time, so the liquid can be seperated from the cheese. It is made from sheep or cow milk with regional differences.
Ricotta salata is produced from the whey of sheep milk on Sardinia and Sicily and has a mild, slightly salty taste, hence 'salata'. It is sold aged, drained and dried, and can then be crumbled like feta.It suits the bitterness of walnuts and pairs well with the chicory family, such as endives or radicchio di Treviso. It works alongside artichokes or wild mushrooms. Grate over gnocchi or pasta, such as cavatelli, or orchiette, or crumble it on top of a crisp green salad.
Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, 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, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Sophia Loren's spaghetti con pomodoro crudo (raw tomato spaghetti)

For ➍
500 g spaghetti
600 g tomatoes, not quite ripe, chopped
150 g fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 big (or 2 small) red onion, thinly sliced
50 g (Sicilian) green olives, pitted & roughly chopped
1 tbs capers, drained
1 tbs Italian parsley, minced
8 fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt & freshly ground pepper
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Parmigiano, freshly grated*

Cook the pasta al dente.

Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, mozzarella, onions, olives, capers, parsley, oregano, garlic in a large serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the oil over and toss gently.

When the pasta is ready, pour it into a colander and quickly rinse it under cold water.

Drain well. Add the warm spaghetti to the bowl. Toss to combine, remove the garlic and serve.

Pass the cheese at the table*.

*Optional.

Italian movies' diva Sophia Loren claimed she owed everything to pasta. Hence this recipe from her second cook book.
Read more Sophia Loren recipes & history: Sophia Loren's tiramisu, vermicelli with sauce alla Sofia, omelet Napoletana. Read the similar no-cook pasta sauce suggestion or cold tomato sauce. Read more spaghetti & linguine recipes: a quick spaghetti, spaghetti with scallops & tomatoes, scallops & rucola spaghetti, spaghetti alla carbonara, spaghetti with vegetables, shrimps fra diavolo, 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, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with small clams)

For ➋
100 g spaghetti
400 g cooked vongole meat (small clams)
4 tbs olive oil
1 chopped garlic clove
5 stalks of dried chilies
2 ts coarse black pepper
fresh coriander leaves
1 small glass of white wine*

Bring water to the boil. Drop in the spaghetti. Cook al dente.

In a small pan heat the olive oil. Stir in the garlic, chilies and pepper. Do not brown the garlic. Mix in the vongole with some of the cooking juice.

Add a small glass of white wine*.

Mix the spaghetti and vongole.  Shred the coriander leaves for decoration.

*Use half a glass of white vermouth instead.
**Use half quantities for a starter.

Another recipe for spaghetti alle vongole in bianco. Try the similar Spanish version.
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 oil & garlic, spaghetti alla puttanesca, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Spaghetti aglio e olio (spaghetti with oil & garlic)

For ➍
250 g spaghetti
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped*
parsley
peperoncino (dried Italian pepper)**
sea salt

Cook spaghetti, until undercooked.

Meanwhile, heat the oil, (sauté the onions)*, sauté the garlic in a skillet with oil and peperoncino until golden brown.

Mix cooked spaghetti briskly in the same skillet, sprinkle over some (sea)salt, add a generous tablespoon of finely chopped parsley, toss and serve.

*Optional.
**Use fresh pepper instead, thinly sliced & seeded.

One of the oldest ways to dress pasta was with raw oil and garlic. Later ingredients like peperoncino were added. Spaghetti aglio e olio (in fact it is spaghetti all´aglio, olio e peperoncino) is a traditional Italian pasta dish from the Abruzzo region.
The sauce consists mainly of garlic fried in oil, plus peperoncino (dried red chili peppers). Parsley is also added.
See the variations in the oil & garlic sauce post. Also see the related sugo alla puttanesca. 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, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca (Naples' hookers' spaghetti)

For ➋
200 g regular whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or capellini
50 g grated Parmigiano cheese*
puttanesca sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions.

Meanwhile make the puttanesca sauce.

When the pasta is done, drain it well* and add it to the sauce skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine.

Serve on warmed plates. Top with grated cheese. Pour a generous glass of red wine.

*Alternatively, when the pasta has been drained, sprinkle with grated Parmigiano to make it rougher, so it will make the sauce stick better to the pasta.

The dish originated in Naples, its name derived from 'puttanesca', the hookers' way, as it was quick for the girls to prepare between customers. Or it was used to entice possible clients with a cheap, heated and aromatic meal into a brothel, nobody is really sure. Except that it is a very quick dish to make with ingredients straight from the (Italian) cupboard, even for regular housewives.
Picture shows WWII American GI searching entertainment in Naples.
Spicier variant: Spaghetti alla puttanesca.
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, Palermo spaghetti with tomatoes & mint, American-Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vermicelli with parsley sauce, shrimps & Brie linguine, butter & tomato pasta sauce, lemon pasta with sea spinach.