Change up the ingredients and portion size, and pasta can serve as an appetizer, entree, side or shareable. The recipes here go from lighter to heartier, in step with the transition from winter to spring.
Chef Peter McNee gets a jump on spring with a pasta that incorporates sweet sugar snap peas and leafy green spinach. The recipe requires little cooking, as the hot pasta and a little of its cooking water wilts the spinach and softens the peas as they are tossed together. Toasted walnuts provide textural contrast.
2. Spaghetti with Pistachio Pesto and Mint Ricotta
Fresh basil season is still weeks away in most parts of the country, but chef Todd English taps fresh arugula and parsley as the base for his pesto. Pistachios add texture and nuttiness to the sauce, and mint infuses the dish with a touch of springtime.
Photograph courtesy of California Table Grape Commission
3. Sweet Corn Ravioli with Blistered Grapes
House-made pasta dough encloses a corn and mascarpone filling for a sophisticated vegetarian ravioli. A bit of pesto and a lemon emulsion add herbal and citrus notes to the sauce, and blistered red grapes create a colorful and fruity finish. Although this recipe is a little labor-intensive, several of the steps can be done ahead.
Chef Mogan Anthony substitutes plant-based Impossible meat for the beef traditionally used in a classic Bolognese sauce. The result is a meaty-tasting pasta that fits into a vegan diet. A tubular pasta such as rigatoni, ziti or penne works best with this heartier sauce.
Shrimp takes a spicy turn in this pasta dish. Both the arrabbiata sauce and infused oil include Calabrian chili paste, but the tomatoes and sweet onions mellow out the heat a bit. Use a long, thin pasta in this recipe, such as chitarrine—which translates to guitar strings—or spaghettini to hold the sauce.
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