Creamy Penne Pasta with Zucchini, Pancetta and Ricotta Cheese

Perfect one-dish dinner, ready in less than 30 minutes

Creamy and rich penne pasta with wholesome zucchini, flavorful pancetta and delicate ricotta cheese.

Here is another recipe great for a family dinner on a busy weeknight. 

This pasta is super easy to prepare. It won't take you more than 30 minutes from start to finish. And it makes a healthy, complete and balanced one-dish meal. It has a full serving of  vegetables, carbs from the pasta, proteins from the ricotta and Parmesan cheese and ... oh well, the pancetta. Not as healthy as the rest, but it's sinfully delicious taste makes this dish incredibly flavorful. 

Here are other simple and quick pasta recipes with zucchini that are ready in less than 30 minutes. Buon appetito!

Fettuccine Pasta with Zucchini, Eggplants, and Peppers

Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Zucchini

Penne Pasta with Shrimps and Zucchini

Ingredients: serving 4

• half onion
• 4 medium zucchini
• 8 oz  (225 gr) whole milk ricotta
• 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
• 3 oz (85 gr) of pancetta (or thin sliced bacon)
• 12 oz (225 gr) of penne pasta (or other shape)
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Directions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook the penne pasta when boiling following the directions on the box.
In a large skillet, saute' the chopped onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil, over medium heat.

Step 2: Add the zucchini cut in small pieces. Saute' over medium-high flame for 7-10 minutes. Season with salt.

Step 3: Add the pancetta cut in strips and saute' for a couple of more minutes.

Step 4: In a bowl prepare the ricotta by mixing it with a pinch of salt, a sprinkle of pepper, the Parmesan cheese and about a 1/4 cup of hot water from the pot where the pasta is cooking. Mix and make it creamy.

Step 5: Drain the pasta and toss it in the skillet with the zucchini and the ricotta. Serve immediately. 

Buon appetito!

Penne Pasta with Creamy Mushrooms and Taleggio Cheese

Looking for a unique, savory, creamy and cheesy pasta to make for dinner? Here is the recipe for you!

Taleggio is a semi-soft Italian cheese with a strong aroma and delicate flavor. I love the combination of this cheese with the earthy taste of mushrooms.  Porcini mushrooms would be my first choice, but any type of mushrooms would actually do with this recipe.
I used the same two ingredients with crepes some time ago. Do you remember that recipe? You can find it here. Today's recipe is a pasta, penne or other short pasta can be used. The cheese is melted with a white, delicate besciamella sauce, and mixed with the mushrooms. You will not be disappointed by the scrumptious flavor of this pasta. It tastes at least as delicious as it looks!

Ingredients: serving 4

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 garlic clove (crushed or minced)
• 8 oz (225 gr) of mushrooms, cleaned and cut in pieces
• 4 oz (110 gr) of taleggio cheese
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 8 fl oz (250 ml) of milk
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 14 oz of penne pasta

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Directions:
Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and start cooking the pasta when it boils.
Step 2: In a large skillet, saute' the crushed (or minced) garlic clove in the olive oil for one minute. Add and saute' the mushrooms cut in small pieces over medium heat. After about 5 minutes add the parsley and salt to taste.

Step 3: In a separate sauce pan, melt the tablespoon of butter and about 1/4 cup of milk over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for about one minute.Whisk in the rest of the milk a bit at a time, until the white sauce is nice and smooth. Salt to taste.

Step 4: When the pasta is almost cooked, add the white sauce and the taleggio cheese cut in pieces to the skillet with the mushrooms. Mix and let the cheese melt completely over low heat.

Step 5: Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Classic Italian Penne all'Arrabbiata Recipe

 A spicy and garlicky tomato sauce with a sprinkle of Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese

So easy, yet so delicious!

This a traditional Italian pasta that could not miss from my list of recipes.
The penne all'arrabbiata, which means the "angry pasta," is a very traditional Italian primo piatto. I'm not sure where this pasta get its bad temper, but to make my penne really raving mad I use spicy dried peperoncini.
Peperoncino is an Italian variety of hot chilly peppers. The key word here is HOT! And the seeds inside the peperoncino are what gives its burning effect. So I normally break the peppers in half when I put them in the pan, and I get a mouth-numbing, tongue-tingling super hot sauce.
These are the same hot peppers I use in my pasta alla vodka, spaghetti all'amatriciana and few other sauces. If you don't have peperoncini, you can always substitute with hot pepper flakes or the hottest red chili pepper you can find.
You will be surprised by how easy and quick is to make this pasta. Hot and spicy, that's what there is to love about it. A simple and bold tomato sauce with garlic, peperoncino, some parsley and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.


Ingredients: serving 4

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 hot dried peperoncini , crushed
• 2 cups, about 14 oz of fresh or canned tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 12 oz of penne pasta
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan or pecorino cheese, freshly  grated

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a large saucepan, saute' the garlic and the hot peperoncini in the olive oil, for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the diced tomatoes, salt and pepper if you like. Let simmer for 15 minutes or so. Crush the tomato pieces with a fork. Remove the garlic and hot peppers, if you prefer.

3. While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta al dente. Drain and add to the sauce. Toss the pasta, adding in the chopped parsley.

Serve immediately, sprinkling with Parmesan or pecorino cheese

Buon appetito!

Penne Pasta with Tuna Sauce

Great last minute dinner idea: easy and quick pasta with tuna sauce

No idea about what to cook for dinner? And no time to go to the grocery store?
Here is a great idea for you: Penne with tuna sauce.
This quick and super easy recipe is the perfect solution for tonight dinner. It only requires a few main ingredients that most likely you have in your pantry: canned tuna, (canned) crushed tomatoes and pasta.
This tasty and filling pasta will surely become one of your favorite for any last-minute family dinner!

Tip: I like to use fresh Italian parsley with many of my recipes containing fish. If you don't have a garden, like me, to grow parsley, you can always buy it and store it in the freezer.
Here is what I do: when I buy a bunch of parsley from the store or market I immediately wash it, dry it and store it in a sealed bag in the freezer. If you like, you can also mince it before storing it. It will be as good as fresh!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 can, 5 oz, of whole tuna in olive oil
• 1 small can, about 2 cups of crushed tomatoes, I like the TJ organic, and I crush it
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 12 oz of penne pasta

Preparation time: about 20 minutes

Directions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta as soon as the water boils. In the meantime you can prepare the sauce.

Step 2: In a large skillet, saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil over medium heat.

Step 3: As soon as the onion is slightly golden, add the tuna, drained from the oil in the can.
Break the tuna with a wooden spoon and let saute' for one minute.

Step 4: Add the crushed tomatoes, and simmer aver medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is ready. Salt to taste.

Step 5: Drain the pasta, add to the skillet with the parsley. Mix well and serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Penne Pasta with Peas, Peppers and Pancetta

You will be surprised by how easy, quick and delicious is this pasta with peas, peppers and pancetta!

Let's start the week with a super easy, extremely fast, really delicious, one-dish meal recipe, to make your Monday dinner a breeze.
I call this pasta "the Four Ps ",  because of its four simple ingredients: piselli (peas), pancetta (or bacon), peperoni (peppers) and pomodori ... well, that's tomatoes. I guess the name doesn't quite work in English :-(
To prepare this sauce all you need is to place the ingredients in a pan and let them cook for 20 minutes or so. Yes, it's that easy. Check out the recipe!

Ingredients:       Printable Recipe

• 1 cup of green peas
• half red pepper, cut in small cubes
• 2 slices of pancetta or bacon, cut in small cubes
• 12 oz of crushed tomatoes (I used organic canned tomatoes)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional)
• salt to taste
• 12 oz of penne pasta, or other short pasta

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Directions:

Step 1: Place all the ingredients for the sauce (olive oil, peas, pancetta, peppers, tomatoes and salt to taste) in a medium pan, over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. As soon as it start boiling, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes over medium flame. Stir occasionally. Check the sauce and uncover the pan for the last 5 minutes if you need to make it a little denser.

Step 2: While the sauce is cooking, bring to boil a large pot of salted water. Cook the penne. Drain the pasta when ready. Place in saucepan and mix well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you like.

And voila'! Dinner is ready!