Easy Italian recipes are quite common, even if Italian cuisine sometimes gives the impression that the dishes take a long time to prepare. And of course it’s known that Italy and Italian cuisine are all about pasta. Italians eat pasta in all possible combinations, and since they have about 350 types of it, the number of combinations is impressive. Of course, Italian cuisine, and therefore pasta, is sacred to them, and God forbid, for example, you eat spaghetti with a knife!
Just right for sauces: why does Italian pasta have so many shapes
Generally, because each type of pasta has its own purpose. Long and thin spaghetti goes perfectly with tomato-based sauces. Penne in the shape of short tubes has protrusions that hold creamy or thick sauces. Tagliatelle, or flat ribbons, are often served with ragù (sauce) based on meat. Spiral fusilli retain sauces thanks to their twists. Farfalle, or bows, go best with lighter dishes and salads. Orecchiette, or ‘little ears’, is a beloved and iconic pasta from Puglia, often served with thick vegetable sauces. There’s also ravioli stuffed with cheese, meat or vegetables and often served with butter or sage. Italian cuisine is a paradise for gluten and pasta lovers, and everyone will find a pasta suitable for easy Italian recipes here.
The strangest pasta dish I’ve seen so far is spaghetti served with crumbled dry bread fried in olive oil. It sounds strange, tastes even stranger, but it’s a dish from the times when both Italy and Italian cuisine were poor. Another example of needy cuisine is spaghetti with potatoes and rocket. Poor, but always drizzled with good quality olive oil. Besides, some of these ‘poor dishes’, such as bread soup, are coming back into favor and can be eaten in trendy restaurants.
Easy Italian recipes – pasta with green peas, or pasta piselli.
Italian cuisine has many unusual and very easy-to-make dishes. Pasta with peas is one of these dishes and a combination that would never have occurred to me. This dish is a great example of easy Italian recipes eaten not only in the South. Pasta piselli looks like pasta and pea soup, because the dish is served with the water in which it was cooked. I don’t give the proportions; whether the dish will turn out does not depend on them. Simply put, if you want a more pasta ‘soup’ – add more pasta. And if pea – more peas.
I’ve eaten it for the first time, and still cannot decide whether I liked it. It was not bad, young peas are sweet and good olive oil added flavor. In addition, peas are a source of protein, fiber and several vitamins, so even though the dish looks strange, this it is quite healthy.
However, I would add some vegetables, or mushrooms, or lemon zest to make the taste fresher. The original recipe also includes bacon, so it definitely changes the taste. However, we had a vegetarian version.
Ingredients:
– 1-2 medium-sized spring onions (if small – then 3)
– good quality olive oil (Italian cuisine cannot do without it)
– young green peas are best, but it can also be frozen (we used about 250g)
– optionally 3-4 slices of pancetta, i.e. dry bacon. You can also use smoked bacon.
– small pasta, e.g. shells
– salt
– pepper/paprika to taste
Preparation:
Finely chop the onion and optionally the bacon.
Heat the olive oil in a pot and throw in the onion. If you are making a dish with bacon, first fry the bacon, and when it browns, add the onion. Stir and fry for a while until the onion browns.
Add the peas and pour water over everything, just enough to cover the peas, add salt and cook until the peas are soft, as you like. (I won’t say how many minutes, because I prefer crunchy vegetables, but maybe you like them very soft). Don’t throw away the water from the peas!
In the meantime, cook and drain the pasta. Add the cooked pasta to the peas, mix. Add a little pepper/paprika to taste.
Serve like a soup, with water. You can pour good olive oil over the dish.
As you can see, Italian cusine is not just spaghetti or pizza, and easy Italian recipes are really easy. What do you think about this dish? Let me know in the comments.
