Pasta/6 recipes

Cheese tortellini tossed in homemade spinach-basil pesto with sauteed shrimp, toasted almonds, and blistered cherry tomatoes. A restaurant-quality pasta dinner ready in about an hour.

Japanese noodle soup with shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, red pepper, and rice noodles in a hot sesame broth, finished with ginger, brown rice vinegar, and roasted cashews. A vegetarian, low-fat Asian soup ready in 45 minutes.

If you're late to make dinner, try this scrumptious dish made with cream of mushroom soup.

Classic fettuccine Alfredo sauce with just butter, cream, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Four ingredients, 30 minutes, and a plate of pure Italian indulgence.

Mushroom spaghetti in a garlic-butter sauce loosened with a splash of dry red wine, tossed with thin spaghetti and a shower of Parmesan. A simple meatless pasta that comes together fast.

Sun-dried tomato spaghetti sauce with canned tomatoes, white wine, fennel seeds, and a vegetable soffritto sauteed in the sun-dried tomato oil. An intensely tomatoey, meatless pasta sauce.

Pasta with bitter broccoli, garlic, and chili flakes: a Southern Italian classic scented with an almost reckless 14 cloves of garlic and a hit of red pepper heat. Weeknight dinner, minimal effort.

Fresh homemade egg pasta dough blends all-purpose and semolina flour with three eggs for a golden, slightly toothsome noodle. Roll through a pasta machine and cut into spaghetti, fettuccine, or whatever shape your day calls for.

Grandma's Italian gnocchi are pillowy homemade potato dumplings made from riced russets, egg and flour, grooved to catch sauce and boiled just until they float. Authentic from-scratch comfort, lighter than store-bought.

Lemony chicken and anchovy ravioli stuffed with minced chicken, salty anchovies, parmesan, and bright lemon zest. A delicate handmade pasta with a savory umami punch.

Classic manicotti made the authentic way, with handmade egg pasta squares rolled around a ricotta and mozzarella filling, layered in meat sauce and baked under Parmesan. Fresh pasta makes all the difference over boxed tubes.

Three-ingredient primavera cream sauce with heavy cream, butter, and Parmesan melted into a silky coating for pasta or spring vegetables. Quick Italian-style white sauce ready in 10 minutes.

Pumpkin ravioli stuff fresh egg pasta with a Parmesan, amaretti, and nutmeg pumpkin filling, then toss in browned butter. Northern Italian Mantua-style autumn pasta with sweet-savory crumbs.

Sweetbreads poached with onion, shallot, thyme, and bay, then finished in cream and veal stock. A New York masterchef ravioli sauce built on luxury offal.

Baked pasta shells with mushroom cream: a lightened chicken-and-pasta casserole with peas, mushrooms, pimentos, and Parmesan breadcrumb topping. Cornstarch-thickened sauce means no heavy bechamel.

Quick spaghetti with shrimp, asparagus, and ginger-lemon sauce ready in 20 minutes. Light, bright flavors perfect for easy weeknight elegance.