Pasta/20 recipes

Light basil pesto pasta with toasted pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and reduced chicken broth instead of heavy oil. Fresh, bright, and ready in 20 minutes.

Sun-dried tomato pasta sauce with no canned tomatoes. Dry-packed tomatoes rehydrate in boiling water, then split between a blended puree and chunky halves for real texture. Vegan, 20 minutes.

Simple spaghetti with shrimp, garlic, green pepper, onions, and sharp Romano cheese. No tomato sauce needed for this 20-minute Italian-style shrimp pasta.

Cold noodle salad with tender shrimp, crisp snow peas, and luscious ginger-garlic dressing. This Asian-inspired pasta salad is ready in 20 minutes, perfect for lunch or potlucks.

Lightning-fast bay scallop saute with tri-color bell peppers, garlic, white wine, fresh basil, and toasted pine nuts over pasta. A low-calorie seafood dinner that's on the table in 20 minutes.

Chicken and pasta in Thai peanut sauce tosses thin spaghetti, seared chicken, broccoli and red pepper in a creamy, nutty sauce with a kick of crushed red pepper. A 20-minute weeknight dinner.

Quick Italian mushroom and tomato pasta sauce with garlic, parsley, and marjoram cooked in olive oil. A 20-minute vegetarian sauce with a full pound of mushrooms.

Bay scallops and shrimp in a light cream and clam juice sauce with tri-color bell peppers and zucchini over angel hair pasta. An elegant seafood dinner ready in under 20 minutes.

Penne with bacon, peas, and ricotta is a creamy 5-ingredient pasta ready in 20 minutes. Smoky bacon fat coats the penne while ricotta melts into a silky sauce.

Garlic prawns sauteed in butter with shallots, then simmered in champagne and fresh lemon juice with dill. An elegant 20-minute seafood dinner served over rice or pasta.

Penne alla vodka tosses tubular pasta with a quick sauce of butter, vodka, hot pepper, puréed plum tomatoes, cream, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. A 20-minute Italian-American classic.

Fettuccine with shrimp in a creamy herb sauce made from soup mix, milk, green peas, and Parmesan. A fast weeknight pasta dinner ready in 20 minutes with pantry staples.

Chicken livers browned in bacon drippings, simmered in dry sherry and tomato sauce with mushrooms, onions, and herbs. Served over rice, polenta, or pasta with grated Parmesan. Ready in 20 minutes.

Greek makaronia: spaghetti tossed with browned butter, mizithra cheese, and shaved kalamata olives. Four-ingredient Greek pasta classic ready in 20 minutes.

Sirloin steak with asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and bow-tie pasta in a basil-tomato broth topped with Parmesan. A light, high-protein skillet dinner ready in just 20 minutes.

Garlic spaghetti with olive oil, fresh parsley, and Parmesan. A classic aglio e olio done simply with pasta water for a silky, garlicky sauce in under 20 minutes.