15 ways to dress up store-bought pasta

Recipes

Tarragon and Courgette Sauce
Serves 4

1 sachet tarragon
450g small courgettes, unpeeled and cut into thin rounds
olive oil or butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coarsely chop the tarragon leaves and set aside. Sprinkle the courgette rounds with salt and put them in a colander to drain off their liquid. Pat dry and fry them gently in oil or butter or a mixture of the two. When they are soft, add salt and pepper to taste, stir in the tarragon then pour over spaghetti or any other pasta and turn well.

Rocket and Goat’s Cheese Sauce
Serves 4

1 handful rocket
340g double cream
55g fresh goat’s cheese, crumbled
225g French beans
salt and pepper

Simmer the cream in a large pan over medium heat until slightly reduced. Whisk in the goat’s cheese and set aside. Blanch the beans and boil for 2 minutes or until they are tender but still crisp. Drain, then add them to the cream with the rocket, salt and pepper. Pour over pasta and turn well to coat.

Mint and Rocket Pesto
Serves 4

90g fresh mint leaves
330g rocket leaves
150g pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
150ml olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the mint, rocket, half the pine nuts, and garlic to a food processor and blitz till coarsely chopped. Then, leaving the food processor running on a very low speed, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream, salt and pepper to taste, then purée until smooth. Toast the remaining pine nuts. Add the pesto, then the nuts to cooked and drained pasta and serve with a bowl of grated Parmesan cheese.

Fresh Herbs and Cream Sauce
Serves 4

85g basil, mint, parsley and chives, finely chopped
340ml double cream
2 tbsp unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
pinch grated nutmeg
pinch cayenne
30g freshly grated Parmesan

In a heavy sauce, simmer the cream, butter, salt, nutmeg and cayenne for 15 minutes, until slightly reduced. Add the Parmesan and herbs and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes. Then pour over pasta, turn to coat and serve.

Green Sauce
Serves 4

110g fresh parsley
30g fresh dill
2 small spring onions, sliced
2 anchovy fillets, drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
generous ½ tbsp capers, drained
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
75ml olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Purée the parsley, onions and dill in a food processor. Add the anchovies, garlic, capers and lemon juice and process until smooth. While the machine is running, add the oil in a steady stream. Season to taste, then pour over pasta, turn to coat and serve.

Rosemary and Anchovy Sauce
Serves 4

1 ½ tbsp finely chopped rosemary
9 salted anchovy fillets
juice 1 ½ lemons
100ml extra virgin olive oil

Rinse the anchovies under cold water to remove the salt. Then carefully take off the heads and peel out the spines. Pat dry. In a food processor, process the rosemary to a fine grain, then add the anchovy and pulse till both become a paste. With the machine running on a very slow speed, add the olive oil in a thin stream, then the lemon juice. This makes a thick sauce that may need a spoonful or two of the pasta water to loosen it before pouring over the pasta.

Next page: 4 more tasty pasta dishes