Midweek meals: Five delicious pasta dishes ready in 30 minutes or less

Whether you’re looking for an after-school dinner for the family or a quick and easy meal to make after work, these pasta recipes are ready in no time

Midweek meals: Quick and easy pasta recipes

Roasted vegetable pasta

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

This dish is quick and easy to prepare

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 500g pasta

• 1 bag of baby spinach

• 50g butter (olive oil is fine here too)

• Leftover roasted vegetables

• Leftover Chicken

Method

1. Boil some water and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

2. 1 minute before your pasta is ready, lash spinach into the boiling water with the pasta. It'll only take a minute to cook.

3. Strain away the pasta and spinach, leaving the hob on. Return the (empty) saucepan to the hob and put the butter, seasoning, leftover vegetables and chicken into the empty saucepan. Pour the pasta and spinach on top. Stir well so that all the ingredients are combined and heated through. Serve immediately.

4. If you have any leftovers allow to cool to room temperature and stir through a tablespoon of mayonnaise with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Cover and chill then enjoy for lunch the following day.

Pasta with sausage, brown butter and sage

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

When you're sick of turkey, try Colm O'Gorman's perfect post-Christmas pasta

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 400g pork sausage

• 50g butter

• Handful fresh sage, approx 30 leaves

• 75g freshly grated parmesan cheese

• 500g dried fresine or linguine

• Splash of lemon juice

• Ground black pepper

Method

1. Remove the sausages from their skins and chop them into pieces 1-2cm pieces. Discard the skins.

2. Warm a heavy based non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the sausages and reduce the heat to medium.

3. Fry for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sausage has broken up a little more, is cooked through and starting to caramelise. Remove from the heat and set aside for now.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until it is tender, but still about one minute away from fully done. For linguine, allow about nine to ten minutes, for fresine, allow eleven to twelve minutes.

5. While the pasta is cooking, heat a small pan over a high heat and add the butter.

6. Reduce the heat to medium and when the butter starts to foam, reduce to low.

7. Wash and roughly chop the sage leaves, discarding the thicker stalks as they are too fibrous to use in this recipe. Add the chopped sage, to the foaming butter and cook until the butter turns nutty brown.

8. This will only take a few minutes, so keep an eye on the pan and do not let the butter or the sage burn. You want the butter to be a nice brown colour with a biscuity hazelnut like aroma. When it is done, remove the pan for the heat and set aside.

9. When the pasta is almost done, remove one cup of the starchy cooking water and set aside. Drain the pasta and pop it back into the pot.

10. Add the cooked sausage, the brown butter and sage, and the parmesan and stir to mix and warm them through over a low heat. The pasta should be coated quite thickly now in the butter and cheese mixture, so add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin it out. The salty, starchy water will add seasoning but also help bind the pasta and sauce together; and it also helps give a lovely texture to the sauce.

11. Just add one quarter of a cup at a time until you get the desired consistency.

12. Finally, add a splash of lemon juice and a good grind of fresh black pepper to season. If you used enough salt in the pasta water, you should not need any more, but taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to taste, adding more lemon juice, pepper or salt if needed.

13. Serve the pasta in warm bowls, with more parmesan on top with fresh crusty bread and a simple green salad on the side.

Buddy’s broccoli and cheesy pasta bake

recipe by:Jamie Oliver

A delicious pasta bake, with added greens, to serve up on school evenings

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 2 heads of broccoli - 375g (13oz) each

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1/2 - 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes

• 1.5 litres (2 1/2 pints) semi-skimmed milk

• 100g (3 1/2oz) baby spinach

• 100g (3 1/2oz) Cheddar cheese

• 500g (18oz) dried pasta shells

• 100g (3 1/2oz) garlic bread

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/Gas Mark 6.

2. Cut off and discard the tough ends of the broccoli stalks, trim the green florets into 3cm (1 1/4 inch) pieces and put aside, then roughly chop all the remaining stalks and place in a food processor.

3. Peel and add the garlic, then blitz until fine. Place a large shallow casserole pan on a medium heat.

4. Once hot, go in with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the chilli flakes, to taste. As soon as they start to sizzle, tip in the blitzed broccoli stalks. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour in 1 litre (1 3/4 pints) of milk.

5. Pour the remaining 500ml (18fl oz) of milk into the processor with the spinach and crumble in the cheese. I wanted this to be healthy, but now’s the time to add the extra cheese if you want it more indulgent.

6. Blitz until smooth, pour into the pan, then bring to the boil and season to perfection. Stir the broccoli florets and pasta shells into the sauce and boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

7. Tear the garlic bread into the processor (there’s no need to clean it first) and blitz into crumbs. Sprinkle over the pasta bake and transfer to the oven for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Delicious served with a fresh green salad.

8. Seasonal Swaps: Go festive and swap out the broccoli for Brussels sprouts – blitz half for the sauce and quarter the rest to add with the pasta. Embrace Christmas cheese board cheeses and try a cheeky crumbling of chestnuts in the garlic bread crispy bits.

Fridge Clear-Out Pasta Salad

recipe by:Ciara McDonnell

There is one rule to a perfect pasta salad, and that is to include one ‘sour’ ingredient. Look to olives, capers or even home-pickled onions to add a flavour note that will elevate your pasta salad from blah to bling.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 200g pasta shapes, cooked according to packet instructions in boiling salted water

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp fresh basil pesto

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• Salt and pepper

• 8 slices of salami or cooked meat of your choice (salmon or tuna would also work)

• 2 tbsp Kalamata olives, de-stoned and sliced

• 1 cucumber, chopped into bite-sized pieces

• ½ head broccoli, chopped into small pieces

• 8 bocconcini, sliced into quarters

• 25g Parmesan, finely grated

Method

1. Once your pasta has cooked, drain and dress with the olive oil, pesto, vinegar and salt and pepper and allow to cool.

2. Stir in the vegetables, olives, bocconcini and Parmesan, give a good stir and store in the fridge for up to three days, decanting into single-serve containers as needed.

3. Serve at room temperature in order to allow the flavours to mingle and develop.

Pasta Piselli

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

An easy peasy Italian pasta recipe that makes use of what you already have in your cupboard and freezer

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 13 mins

Total Time

 18 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• ½ onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 800ml stock, chicken or vegetable stock

• 150g frozen peas

• 200g pasta, whatever you have handy

• 50g Parmesan, grated

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• Lemon, squeeze of lemon

• Mint leaves to serve, optional

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and leave to saute for 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. If the pan begins to dry add a splash of the stock.

2. Add the garlic and the pasta and stir for a minute or so. Add the stock, parmesan, a squeeze of lemon and begin to simmer.

3. Leave for between 7-10 minutes, be careful not to let the ingredients stick to the pan so do stir as you go. Add the peas for the last 3-4 minutes.

4. Serve with fresh mint and a little grated parmesan. Enjoy.