WORLD PASTA DAY!

Carb lovers can celebrate as 25th of October is World Pasta Day, a day to appreciate pasta in all of its forms as well as its cultural and culinary reputation. So, we thought we’d celebrate by sharing some interesting facts and pasta recipes!

Interesting facts about pasta:

• Pasta originated in China, not Italy.
• There are more than 600 shapes, and some have over 1300 names.
• There’s a shape for every sauce.
• Spaghetti Bolognese is not traditional Italian.
• The Ancient Romans used to fry their pasta.
• Uncooked dry pasta can be kept for up to a year.
• Cooked pasta can be frozen and re-eaten within three months.
• One cup of cooked pasta is the size of your fist.
• Pasta has many health benefits, as it is low in calorific value and contains various nutrients and minerals.

Farfalle with Spicy Sausage and Butternut Squash

Total time: 25 minutes

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 pound peeled butternut squash – cut into pieces

Salt

1 onion – diced

1 pound spicy sausage – casings removed

12 ounces farfalle

1/2 cup freshly ground Pecorino Romano

1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

METHOD:

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Add the squash, season lightly with salt and cook over high heat, stirring, until tender and lightly browned, for about 8 minutes. Transfer the squash to a plate.
2. Add olive oil, then add onion and sausage and cook over high heat. Cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Return the squash to the skillet.
3. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet along with the pasta water and the cheese and cook until the sauce is thick and creamy, about 2 minutes.
4. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Turkey and Butternut Squash Lasagne

Total time: 2 hours

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS:

Mushroom Béchamel:

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup Marsala or dry white wine

3 cups whole milk

1 cup leftover sautéed mushrooms

1 cup fontina cheese – shredded

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of black pepper

Turkey Filling:

4 cups pulled leftover roast turkey – minced

1 cup turkey gravy

2 cups parmesan cheese

2 tbsp fresh sage leaves – minced

Butternut Squash Filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cups mashed cooked butternut squash

2 cups parmesan cheese

1/4 freshly grated nutmeg

Additional ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 pound uncooked dry lasagne sheets

1 1/2 cups fontina cheese – shredded

2 tbsp unsalted butter

10 fresh sage leaves

METHOD:

Make the mushroom béchamel

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and salt, stirring often, until mixture begin to turn a light brown colour, about 2 minutes. Whisk in Marsala until absorbed. Gradually whisk in milk until combined. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stirring occasionally until mixture thickens and coats back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms; remove from heat. Add fontina, nutmeg, pepper and stir until cheese is melted. Set it aside.

Make the turkey filling

1. Stir together turkey, gravy, parmesan and sage in a large bowl until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the butternut squash filling

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium. Remove from heat, and stir in squash, parmesan and nutmeg. Transfer squash mixture to a food processor; process until smooth. Set filling aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Boil lasagne sheet, stirring often for about 6 minutes. Remove pasta from water and drain.
3. Spoon half the béchamel in an even layer on bottom of prepared dish. Top with a layer of cooked pasta sheet, spread half of the turkey filling over pasta. Repeat the process. Sprinkle with fontina. Spray a sheet if foil with cooking spray (to prevent sticking), and cover lasagne with foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven 1 hour. Remove foil and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cook sage leaves over olive oil until crisp. Sprinkle on top then serve!

One-pot White Wine Pasta with Mushrooms

Cooking and preparation time: 30 minutes

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 pound cremini mushrooms – trimmed and sliced

2 tbsp unsalted butter

4 medium garlic cloves – thinly sliced

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 pound short pasta of your choice

3 cups water

1 1/3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2/3 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp grated lemon zest plus 1 1/2 tsp fresh juice

1/2 tsp black pepper

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until all liquid has evaporated, about 12 minutes.
2. Add butter, until melted. Then add garlic.
3. Stir in pasta, water, stock and water, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in cream and simmer until sauce evenly coats pasta. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, herbs, lemon zest and juice, add pepper. Serve!