These lighter takes on our fortifying favourite are perfect for hot nights.
When it’s hot, no one feels like lingering over the stove. We’re naturally drawn to simple and fresh meals, made with a surfeit of vegetables plucked from the garden or market.
While our quota of salads certainly gets
Light pastas like the ones we highlight below, filled with fresh herbs and other in-season produce come together with similar ease and offer flavourful fortification everyone hankers for after action-packed days in the sun.
A light honey and grain mustard dressing takes the place of a heavier sauce in this fresh take on pasta salad that comes together with minimal effort or mess.
Missing the comfort of your winter carbonara? Even celery sceptics will gobble up this silky warm-weather winner.
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Peppery rocket does double duty in this light but satiating pasta dish, threaded through the goat-cheese stuffing and brightening up the lively sauce it gets baked in.
The grooves and gently cupped ends of farfalle do a great job of holding on to oodles of this vibrant green sauce but use any odds and ends of pasta you have in the pantry. Similarly, you can make good use of any surplus greens or herbs by blending them into the fold.
Light and flavoursome, sunny lemon and gently sweet fennel are the perfect accompaniment for velvety salmon. Be liberal with the lemon zest - it lifts the whole tangle of flavours.
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Advertise with NZME.Soft and pillowy, gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings but made with ricotta instead of potato. These plump beauties are one of the most popular dishes at Birkenhead pasta restaurant Osteria Uno, but if you can’t make it there, recreate the magic at home with their recipe for a satisfying and summery supper.
Seven common pantry staples combine in this simply sublime spaghetti iteration destined to be your new go-to when in need of a quick weeknight dinner. Take the time to mince the garlic super finely, you’ll taste the difference!
The flavour in the end result of this crowd favourite is something of a feat, given the rest of the components come together in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
Peppery, nutty, bright. This Leisha Jones recipe makes enough to feed 6-8, but it keeps well for lunch the next day too - meaning none will go to waste if you make the full batch.
Not only is bucatini fun to slurp up, but the hollow centre also makes a great vehicle for a glossy shellfish-rich liquor. The fermented chilli butter is well worth pulling the food processor out to make, especially since the rest of this restaurant-quality recipe is so straightforward. But for unrivalled convenience feel free to substitute it with sriracha.
Any smoked fish would work well, flaked over this quick-cooking risotto-like dish made using orzo in the place of rice.
Fancy enough to be the star of an al fresco dinner party, casual enough to throw together for no other reason than you feel like something truly delicious. Aromatic, luxurious, foolproof, this amped-up riff on vongole has it all.
Make the most of fresh tomatoes being at their best. A gentle roast brings their natural sweetness to a jammy apex, perfect to contrast against nutty, creamy cashews and umami-rich mushrooms.
