The first reaction to seeing Kourtney Kardashian’s wedding food for many foodies, was that of utter disbelief. How can a dish so magnificent be served in a limited portion? We get that elegant gourmet food is served in smaller servings, but for a wedding that has costed millions of dollars, serving just a spoonful of pasta to the guests, is definitely going to become the talk of the town. Whether its relishing pasta at a lavish Italian wedding or at a budget friendly take out, pasta’s presence and versatility as a dish can be felt everywhere. While Kylie Jenner’s Instagram story showing the spoonful of pasta that was served at Kourtney’s wedding, did draw a hilarious response from foodies, no one could deny that the even that two spoonful of pasta did look aesthetic and appetising.
Cooking a sumptuous plate of pasta is all about fresh ingredients and making the right choices. By right choices we mean, you have to be careful about choosing which shape of pasta goes best with which sauce. If all you’ve been seeing are memes of Kourtney’s wedding pasta and you feel the urge to recreate the recipe, then this is your lucky day! Here are some recipes of red sauce pasta by British Chef James Oliver that you could try out at your home. It’s safe to say that you can have as many servings of these pastas as you like.
Classic Red Sauce Spaghetti
Ingredients:
- Four hundred and eighty grams of dried wholewheat spaghetti
- One medium onion
- One tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- One kg ripe tomatoes
- olive oil
- One bunch of fresh basil
- Two cloves of garlic
- Fifteen grams of Parmesan cheese
Method:
- Pick the basil leaves onto a chopping board and roughly chop the leaves.
- Peel and finely slice the onion and garlic. Cut the tomatoes in half, and chop.
- Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the onion, then cook till the onions are soft and slightly golden.
- Stir in the garlic and basil stalks for a few minutes, add tomatoes and vinegar.
- Season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking.
- Mix in the basil leaves that were chopped.
- Cook the spaghetti until it is al dente.
- Once the pasta is done, take it out and reserve a cup of the cooking water.
- Mix the spaghetti into the sauce, adding a splash of the pasta water to loosen, if needed.
- Serve with the reserved basil leaves sprinkled over the top and finely grate the Parmesan cheese, then sprinkle over.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients:
- One onion
- Five hundred grams of dried spaghetti
- Olive oil
- Two sprigs of fresh rosemary
- Five hundred grams minced lamb
- Two hundred ml red wine
- Two hundred and eighty gram jar of sun-dried tomatoes
- Six rashers dry-cured higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
- Two cloves of garlic
- Two tins of a four hundred gram tin of plum tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC
- Peel and finely chop the garlic and onions, finely chop the rosemary, then finely slice the bacon.
- Heat a splash of oil in a casserole pan on a medium heat, add the bacon, rosemary, garlic and onion and cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the minced lamb, breaking it apart with the back of a spoon, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until starting to brown, then pour in the wine. Leave to bubble and cook away.
- Meanwhile, drain and tip the sun-dried tomatoes into a food processor, blend to a paste, then add to the pan with the tomatoes. Stir well, break the plum tomatoes apart a little.
- Cover with a lid then place in the oven for 1 hour, removing the lid and giving it a stir after 30 minutes – if it looks a little dry at this stage, add a bit of water to help it along.
- About 10 minutes before the time is up, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water.
- Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water, then put it in the pan with a few spoons of Bolognese, a good grating of Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Toss to coat the spaghetti, putting some cooking water, if needed.
- Divide the spaghetti between plates or bowls, add a good spoonful of Bolognese to each, then serve with a fine grating of Parmesan.
Pappardelle with tomato sauce
Ingredients:
- Two hundred and fifty grams of fresh lasagne sheets
- One small bunch of fresh basil , leaves picked
- Sea salt
- Four hundred grams of good-quality tinned chopped tomatoes
- Two cloves garlic , peeled and finely sliced
- Freshly Ground Pepper
- One fresh red chilli , halved, deseeded and finely sliced
- Parmesan cheese , freshly grated, to serve
- Extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add olive oil. When the oil’s hot, add the garlic and chilli and fry until lightly coloured.
- Drop in generous amount of basil and then, after a few seconds, add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the lasagne sheets into strips with a knife. When the water is at a boil, add the pasta and cook for a few minutes until al dente.
- Drain the pasta strips in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water.
- Stir the pasta into the warm sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the reserved basil leaves and serve immediately.
