Donal Skehan’s quick midweek pasta – including a favourite recipe from Stanley Tucci

Pasta dishes are incredibly versatile. With just a handful of ingredients and minimal prep time, you can whip up a seriously comforting dinner that caters to a variety of tastes and dietary preferences. Whether you’re craving a classic spaghetti Bolognese, a classic carbonara or a light and fresh pesto, there’s a pasta recipe to fit your needs.

This week, I have three easy weeknight pasta dinners that are not only quick to prepare but also guaranteed to be crowd-pleasers.

First up, a simple favourite: brown butter cherry tomato pasta. It’s always good now and again to just have a big bowl of starchy, silky and salty pasta. Browning the butter just takes things a step further and gives this pasta dish a nutty flavour. You can switch the fettuccine for linguine or tagliatelle if you like or use coloured tomatoes to add a pop of colour to the dish.

Next up is crispy salami, asparagus and lemon pasta. This is a fairly uncomplicated dish that can be made in the time it takes to cook the pasta. The idea is based around creamy pasta a limone, where lemon-zest-infused cream adds a brightness, making it the perfect contrast to thin, crisp slices of salty salami and bright green tender asparagus. A summer winner for sure.

A couple of summers ago, I read Stanley Tucci’s autobiography, Taste: My Life Through Food. In between the wonderful personal stories and recipes that have defined his life, a standout recipe in the book is his courgette pasta.

This simple yet elegant dish features thinly sliced courgettes sauteed in olive oil served with long pasta like spaghetti or linguine, and finished with freshly grated parmesan and basil. It highlights the beauty of using fresh, simple ingredients, particularly at this time of year.

Brown Butter Cherry Tomato Pasta

Time: 15 minutes Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 250g fettuccine
• 75g butter
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 100g pecorino, finely grated
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Small handful basil leaves, to serve

Method 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions or until al dente.

2. While the pasta is cooking, add the butter to a large saute pan over a medium heat and let it melt. Once the butter is a deep brown and smells nutty, add the garlic along with the tomatoes and thyme, simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit and created a sauce. Simmer until slightly thickened.

3. When cooked, transfer the pasta to the saute pan along with a little of the cooking liquid and half the pecorino. Toss until all the flavours marry together. Season to taste and then serve in wide bowls with the basil leaves and the remaining pecorino.

Crispy Salami, Asparagus & Lemon Pasta

Serves: 4 Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 250g cavatelli pasta (can also use gemelli or fusilli)
• 100g good-quality fennel salami, sliced
• 50g butter
• 2 lemons, zested
• 250ml double cream
• 100g fresh or frozen peas
• 100g asparagus spears, woody ends snapped off
• 100g parmesan, finely grated
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 75g rocket leaves
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

1. Place a large saucepan of salted water over a high heat, bring to the boil and add the pasta, cooking according to packet instructions.

2. While the pasta cooks, place a large, deep saucepan over a medium heat and when hot, add the sliced salami. Dry-fry, turning occasionally, until crisp, then remove to a plate and set aside.

3. Add the butter to the saucepan and allow to melt, then add the lemon zest and double cream. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until slightly reduced, stirring often.

4. Add the peas and asparagus to the pasta cooking water for the last 2 minutes of cooking time.

5. Scoop the pasta and vegetables into the sauce along with a little of the pasta cooking liquid and toss to coat everything in the sauce. Allow to simmer for a minute or two until the pasta has absorbed most of the liquid, remove from the heat and stir through two-thirds of the parmesan, little by little, retaining a small amount to garnish. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then crumble in half of the crispy salami, breaking it into shards with your hands, and the rocket.

6. Serve straight away in bowls with the remaining parmesan, parsley and salami sprinkled over the top.

Stanley Tucci’s Courgette Pasta

Serves: 4 Time: 40 minutes + cooling

Ingredients

• 500ml vegetable oil, or as needed
• 6 courgettes, roughly 1kg, sliced into thin rounds
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 400g spaghetti
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 30g butter
• A few basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• 125g pecorino, grated
• 100g parmesan, grated
• Zest of 1 lemon

Method

1. Place the oil into a high-sided saucepan suitable for deep-frying and place over a medium-high heat. Heat until the oil is shimmering, then add a slice of courgette to check if it’s hot enough — if the courgette sizzles when added to the oil, it has come up to the correct temperature.

2. Add the courgette slices, in batches, to the oil, frying until they are a lovely golden brown — this will take a while.

3. Remove the courgettes with a slotted spoon onto some kitchen paper, then season with a little salt and repeat until all of the courgettes are fried. Allow them to cool.

4. Now, bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the spaghetti, cooking according to the packet instructions, until al dente.

5. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil, then add the cooled courgettes to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften and break down, for about 3-5 minutes. Add a few splashes of the pasta water and then go in with a potato masher, roughly mashing the courgettes — you don’t want a smooth paste but something that resembles a rough, chunky pesto.

6. Add the butter to the pan, allow to melt, then add in the pasta along with the basil and most of the cheeses, reserving some of each for garnishing.

7. Remove the pan from the heat and toss everything to combine, adding more pasta water as necessary until you have a silky sauce that coats your pasta.

8. Serve in bowls with the reserved cheese sprinkled on top, a seasoning of salt and pepper and a little grating of lemon zest.