Quickest, easiest, tastiest pasta dish

[Dianabanana]

Real quick dinner:Yesterday's leftover steamed broccoli,garlic, anchovies & red pepper flakes sauteed & mashed til soft in good olive oil. Add pasta & parsley. Parmesan. Yum.

←

I love this, too!

Also:

-olive oil, grated pecorino romano, crushed red pepper, black pepper

-butter, shaved garlic, gorgonzola, and black pepper

[Dianabanana]

Tear off a handful of whole fresh sage leaves and lay them flat, velvet side down, in a thin layer of quietly foaming butter and oil.  Turn them when they crisp and then toss with very hot pasta and healthy doses of parmigiano, salt and pepper.

Nothing better in the world - earthy-sweet and sharp and musky.  Eating it reminds me of the scent of fallen leaves.

←

Oh yeah! Except I use only butter, no oil, and brown my butter first--I think the browning is v. v. important, gives a nutty flavor. This really is one of the best things ever!

[StevenC]

My favorite standby is spaghetti cacio e pepe, a dish I first had in Rome years ago and have loved ever since... nothing but spaghetti, grated pecorino, some salt if necessary, a ton of black pepper, and maybe a drizzle of olive oil. Goes beautifully with a tumbler of Frascati or Orvieto.

[SobaAddict70]

My standby varies according to mood and whatever's on hand. A well-stocked pantry is really key.

For instance, tonight will probably be spaghetti with green garlic paste, lemon, wild arugula and olive oil. This will take about 10 minutes, literally.

I picked up some green garlic paste from the farmer's market a couple of weeks ago. Wilt some arugula in a pan with a little olive oil, add some chopped lemon zest, the green garlic paste, a little salt and pepper, maybe some parsley and that's it. By the time the sauce is ready, the pasta should be done. Can't beat that.

But let's say that I didn't want that dish tonight. We could take a look at my refrigerator and see what's in there.

A current snapshot of my pantry involves:

olive oil

oil-packed tuna

spiced black olives

parsley

marjoram

thyme

mint

chives

fresh fettucine

fresh angel hair pasta

oil-packed anchovies

garlic

red onion, gold cippolini onions, white onions, shallots

lemons

a hunk of Parm-Reg cheese

a tub of sheep's milk ricotta

a tub of fromage blanc

a heel of sourdough bread

a loaf of rye bread

There's quite a bit more than that of course, but that's not the point.

I'm pretty sure I can make something simple, easy, quick and delicious using three or four ingredients from that list in less than 15 minutes.

[paulraphael]

Bowtie pasta with olive oil, sweet italian sausage, crimini mushrooms, garlic, ramp leaves, fresh parm, and a bit of white wine.

Yesterday I put this together in the time it took to boil water and cook the pasta. I make variations on this depending on what's in the fridge. At its most basic it's just pasta tossed with olive oil and a bit of parm (and black pepper). The version I made sounds a bit like overkill, but is mostly pasta. The solid ingredients flavor the oil and provide texture. The wine was just a splash to deglaze the saute pan and add some acidity. Stupid easy.

[Kouign Aman]

To many of the above, I also now go with mushrooms chopped and browned to chwey goodness, butter, salt, lemon (or wine), garlic. Add anything green if available and easy. Noodles of any shape.

[ScoopKW]

Surprised "linguini with white clam sauce" hasn't been mentioned

My Système D procedure: Sauté minced garlic in olive oil, add white wine, reduce, add a can (or two) of clams and juice, kill heat, add a lot of fine-chopped basil. Season with a little sea salt and copious coarse ground black pepper. (I like capers as well, but my wife doesn't.) Garnish with parm.

Best of all, I ALWAYS have the ingredients at hand. After my last basil harvest, I blanch basil, mince it, and freeze it with olive oil in ice cube trays. Two or three cubes after killing the heat is plenty of basil.

Start to finish -- 20 minutes.

[maggiethecat]

Last night, start to finish, two minutes, mostly because I'd made my own fettucine the day before and takes two minutes to cook. While it's boiling, place in blender eight garlic scapes, 1/3 cup grated parm, 1/3 cup slivered almonds, 1/3 cup olive oil, s and p. Whiz about until it's pesto. Drain pasta, toss with pesto.