4 Original Ideas for Cooking Pasta

Creamy oven-cooked pasta with cheese and sausage

This pasta recipe with sausage is a favorite among both children and adults. But this time, we’re going to take things a step further, adding milk to make the dish extra creamy. Also, we’ll add a contrast of textures with crunchy au gratin cheese.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of macaroni pasta.
• 12 ounces of chorizo sausage.
• 12 ounces of shredded parmesan cheese.
• 1 onion, finely chopped.
• Milk.
• Powdered garlic.
• Salt.
• Pepper.

Step by step:

1. First of all, preheat your oven to 400º.
2. While the oven is heating, cook the macaroni in water with salt according to the indications on the package.
3. In a frying pan with one tablespoon of oil, cook the chopped onion. When it’s soft, add the chorizo cut into small pieces. Season with a bit of powdered garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté for several minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 of the shredded cheese and the cooked elbow pasta. Then, add milk until reaching the desired creaminess.
5. Grease an oven-safe dish and add the mixture to it and sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top. You can also add some oregano if you wish.
6. Place the pasta in the oven until the cheese starts to brown. Remove and serve.

Pasta with avocado sauce

This recipe combines the above-mentioned properties of pasta with the benefits of avocado. Avocados are rich in omegas, vitamins, potassium and fiber. At the same time, they’re a great way to care for your heart. The result is a delicious, innovative and nutritious pasta dish.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of your choice of pasta.
• 2 avocados.
• Fresh basil.
• 2 cloves of garlic.
• Salt.
• 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice.
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Pepper.

Step by step:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
2. For the sauce, blend the avocados, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Lastly, mix the sauce and the cooked pasta and serve.

Kugel

Try this idea as a different way to cook pasta and you’ll be sure to surprise everyone. The main ingredient of this traditional Jewish dish are flat egg noodles. They can be combined with salty or sweet flavors. Furthermore, this recipe below works as a main dish or a dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups of chopped dried apricots.
• 1 cup of granulated sugar.
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped raisins and prunes.
• 230 grams of sour cream.
• 250 ml (about 8.5 oz) of amaretto (sweet liquor).
• 9 ounces of uncooked pasta.
• 14 ounces of cream cheese.
• 1/4 cup of butter.

Step by step:

1. The night before, put the apricots, raisins and prunes to soak in the amaretto.
2. The next day, when you’re ready to prepare your meal, preheat the oven to 325º.
3. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain and mix the cooked pasta with the butter.
4. Beat the eggs, sugar, cream cheese and sour cream. Then, add the fruit soaked in amaretto. Mix the cream mixture with the buttered pasta.
5. Finally, grease an oven-safe dish and pour in the pasta. Bake for one hour. Remove from heat and serve.

Buttered pasta

This simple recipe shows us that when it comes to cooking pasta, we don’t need a lot of ingredients nor do we need to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare a flavorful recipe. You can serve this pasta as a side dish along with fish, chicken or even salads. Or, you can add bacon and sautéed mushrooms and have pasta as your main dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken bullion cube.
• 1 tablespoon of oil.
• 2 1/2 cups of your choice of pasta.
• 1/3 cup of butter.
• ½ teaspoon of garlic paste.
• 2 tablespoons of chopped green onion.
• 3 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese.

Step by step:

1. In a pot, heat 4 cups of water with the chicken bouillon cube and oil. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the instructions on the package.
2. In a frying pan, melt the butter and fry the garlic paste along with the green onion.
3. Drain the pasta and pour into the frying pan with the butter. Mix well so the pasta takes in the flavors.
4. Remove from heat, add the cheese and stir. Your pasta is ready to serve.

These recipes offer new ideas for cooking pasta in a different way without the need to have great culinary skills. At the same time, each recipe is balanced, healthy and full of flavor to please your entire family.