Recipes

9 Delicious Ways to Celebrate World Pasta Day

Get ready to carbo-load.

By Western Living / October 25, 2016

Get ready to carbo-load.

Happy World Pasta Day! To celebrate this delicious occasion, we’ve scoured the WL Recipe Finder to bring you the best, most scrumptious pasta dishes to indulge in—because October 25 is the one day of the year we’re expected to toss aside our low-carb diets for a bowl (or two!) of the good stuff. Spaghetti, linguine, fusilli, macaroni…Take your pick and bon appétit!

1. Lobster Mushroom Carbonara

Spaghetti carbonara is usually prepared with more humble ingredients—bacon (pancetta if you’re feeling fancy), parmesan, egg and parsley—but this version, topped with braised lobster mushrooms, smoked eel and cured egg yolk, takes the iconic Italian dish to an even more delicious level.

2. Simple Tomato Sauce

Keep a jar of this on-hand for all your pasta-related emergencies (read: cravings). With a few additions, you can turn this simple sauce into a rosé, all’Amatriciana or Puttanesca.

3. Spaghetti with Anchovy and Pangrattato

Corsa 32 chef Daniel Costa, who shared this pasta with us for last year’s family recipe feature, has fond memories of making the comfort food dish at home, proving that pasta really is better after midnight: “I remember eating this every summer with as far back as I can remember…As I grew up, I started making this simple pasta as a late-night bite—and sometimes my father would smell the garlic frying and we would have a plate of pasta together at 2 a.m.”

4. Pappardelle with Mushrooms

Is there such a thing as guilt-free pasta? Maybe not, but this recipe from Joe Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali’s Healthy Pasta cookbook is about as close as it gets.

5. Zucchini Linguine with Ricotta, Lemon and Pine Nuts

Chef Brian Skinner cleverly mixes linguine with fresh zucchini noodles in this fresh and flavourful vegetarian dish. Finished with ricotta, toasted pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon juice, the meal is light-but-hearty—and wholly satisfying.

6. Pasta Carbonara with Bacon and Rapini

Julie Van Rosendaal lends balance to this rich and creamy spaghetti dish with a handful of leafy green rapini—a bitter vegetable more commonly known as broccoli raab.

7. Linguine with Tuna and Lemon

To make this Mediterranean dish, simply combine canned tuna (packed in oil), arugula and lemon zest, and toss with your favourite pasta. “This is one of those ridiculously easy recipes that are excellent to have in your back pocket on nights when you want something simple and delicious,” says cookbook author Gwendolyn Richards.

8. Vegan Pumpkin and Sage Man ’n’ Cheese

Don’t let the word “vegan” scare you. The pumpkin cashew purée is just as creamy as a traditional roux and the breadcrumb crust and fried sage leaves are so tasty you’ll forget your eating something healthy.