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Quick Pasta Meals, Quick and Easy Recipes
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By Sean Conradie
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Quick Pasta Meals, Quick and Easy Recipes
Pasta meals are really easy to cook. The pasta just needs to be placed in boiling water and can be cooked in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of pasta you choose. While the pasta is boiling you can prepare your desired sauce, whether it be tomato, pesto or cream based. You can have a pasta meal prepared in less than 20 minutes, as long as you have a little bit of experience and knowledge.
To those experienced in the kitchen, this kind of meal is easy to make. Novices might still find pasta a little daunting or troublesome. The best way to get your pasta cooked just right is to continually test. While the pasta is cooking, you need to test every now and then to see if the pasta is soft enough. Remove the pasta from the pot sooner rather than later, because leaving it too long can result in an unpleasant soggy mass.
Avoid adding the pasta until your pot of water is boiling vigorously. Adding a large amount of cold raw pasta to a pot will lower the temperature of the water, and it will come off the boil. If the water is not boiling, the pasta tends to stick together, and could become mushy and sticky. Also, keep the water at a boil all the time. You can help make the pasta firmer if you add salt into the boiling water. Note that you should not cover the pot while you cook the pasta. When you think the pasta is done, take it off and drain it in a colander. You have already prepared half of your meal now. All thats left to do now is the sauce.
The good thing about pasta is having several choices for sauces. Actually, there is an overwhelming amount of variation for p
asta sauces. If you're a true pasta lover, having a couple of sauces stored in your refrigerator would be the best way to go. Pesto is a common favourite, and the addition of garlic, some mushrooms or even Italian sausages will liven up your basic pesto sauce.
Bottled or canned sun-dried tomatoes can go well with pasta. I always try to have some sun-dried tomatoes ready since you can just pour it over your pasta and voila! - a tomato based pasta without the traditional tomato sauce and pastes. Top with grated cheese and fresh, crusty bread and you can have a fulfilling meal in no time.
If you want a cream-based sauce, just prepare some sliced olives, cream, oregano and grated cheese. Mix the cream, olives and oregano together with your pasta and finish off with grated cheese on top. Sprinkle with garlic salt and freshly cracked black pepper for a simple cream-based pasta that can be extremely pleasant on the palette.
Olive oil is also a staple sauce for pasta and can be quite easy to use as well. You can mix olive oil with canned seafood or slices of meat or sausages to create a sauce for your pasta. You can add basil for flavor and don't forget the grated cheese. If you want to experiment, try adding spicy flavored meat or different herbs and spices. Spicy pasta may not be for everyone, so enjoy experimenting with more subtle herbs and spices to find what suites your taste.
A quick pasta meal is really just that. It can be created within 20 minutes, and if you use wholewheat pasta and a variety of fresh ingredients in your sauces, you will have a nutritious and satisfying meal with the minimum of effort - and the infinite variety of sauces means you will not tire of pasta meals.
To those experienced in the kitchen, this kind of meal is easy to make. Novices might still find pasta a little daunting or troublesome. The best way to get your pasta cooked just right is to continually test. While the pasta is cooking, you need to test every now and then to see if the pasta is soft enough. Remove the pasta from the pot sooner rather than later, because leaving it too long can result in an unpleasant soggy mass.
Avoid adding the pasta until your pot of water is boiling vigorously. Adding a large amount of cold raw pasta to a pot will lower the temperature of the water, and it will come off the boil. If the water is not boiling, the pasta tends to stick together, and could become mushy and sticky. Also, keep the water at a boil all the time. You can help make the pasta firmer if you add salt into the boiling water. Note that you should not cover the pot while you cook the pasta. When you think the pasta is done, take it off and drain it in a colander. You have already prepared half of your meal now. All thats left to do now is the sauce.
The good thing about pasta is having several choices for sauces. Actually, there is an overwhelming amount of variation for p
Bottled or canned sun-dried tomatoes can go well with pasta. I always try to have some sun-dried tomatoes ready since you can just pour it over your pasta and voila! - a tomato based pasta without the traditional tomato sauce and pastes. Top with grated cheese and fresh, crusty bread and you can have a fulfilling meal in no time.
If you want a cream-based sauce, just prepare some sliced olives, cream, oregano and grated cheese. Mix the cream, olives and oregano together with your pasta and finish off with grated cheese on top. Sprinkle with garlic salt and freshly cracked black pepper for a simple cream-based pasta that can be extremely pleasant on the palette.
Olive oil is also a staple sauce for pasta and can be quite easy to use as well. You can mix olive oil with canned seafood or slices of meat or sausages to create a sauce for your pasta. You can add basil for flavor and don't forget the grated cheese. If you want to experiment, try adding spicy flavored meat or different herbs and spices. Spicy pasta may not be for everyone, so enjoy experimenting with more subtle herbs and spices to find what suites your taste.
A quick pasta meal is really just that. It can be created within 20 minutes, and if you use wholewheat pasta and a variety of fresh ingredients in your sauces, you will have a nutritious and satisfying meal with the minimum of effort - and the infinite variety of sauces means you will not tire of pasta meals.
Tags & Keywords : pasta,cooking,fast meals
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