Penne Tuna Creamy Pasta Recipe

This penne tuna creamy pasta recipe is one of the yummy recipes that my hubby makes.

When I arrived in the UAE on New Year’s Eve of 2008, I discovered that my then fiancée was famous for his creamy pasta dish. His friends were all praises of him and they beamingly call him as the “pasta master”. Friends can really be so supportive right? He can only cook one of the many sauces of pasta then he becomes the master! I couldn’t disagree with his friends because his creamy pasta is certainly delicious! A lot of friends have asked for the recipe and are proud of their own creation as well.

Linguini with Clams Recipe

We love watching cooking shows. This linguini with clams recipe is inspired by many pasta recipes we’ve watched in different shows. As I previously mentioned in my Clam Soup Recipe, clams are in season here and it’s a good thing to take advantage of its abundance because for sure they’re fresh.

There is actually nothing exactly like this recipe because I tweaked it a little, like instead of using parsley for the herb I used fresh basil leaves, which I and hubby are both crazy about. In addition, most pasta with clams recipe I’ve seen are using white wine for the sauce. I intended to skip the white wine, instead I planned to replace it with vegetable cubes to turn it into a broth but we couldn’t find any veggie cube so I settled for the pasta water for the sauce.

I may say my linguini with clams recipe is a success. Hubby enjoyed it so much and I would definitely love to prepare it again in the future.


Linguini with Clams

Here’s is my linguini with clams recipe:

Ingredients:
1 kg clams
500 g linguini pasta
½ bulb garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 handful fresh basil leaves
100 g parmesan cheese, grated
1 pinch dried chili flakes
olive oil

Cooking Procedure:
1) Clean clams well and soak in water for at least 2 hours. Replace the water every half hour. Throw away clams that have opened.
2) Cook pasta according to instructions. Linguini will be cooked al dente in boiling water with a teaspoon of salt for 10-11 minutes. Drain pasta and sprinkle with olive oil then set aside.
3) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet.
4) Sauté garlic, do not brown.
5) Sauté onion until translucent.
6) Add in clams and half cup of pasta water.
7) Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until most of the clams have opened.
8) Add basil leaves and dried chili flakes. Stir well.
9) Turn off the heat. Add the cooked pasta and parmesan cheese in the same skillet and combine well with the sauce.
10) Serve hot. Sprinkle with dried chili flakes, grated parmesan cheese and olive oil if desired.

Shrimps and Vegetable Spaghettini Recipe

This shrimps and vegetable spaghetti recipe is a healthy option for a pasta dish, in which I used oil-based sauce. Other types of pasta sauce may be tomato-based, cream-based, herb-based or meat-based.

It is recommended for oil-based sauce pasta to use strand pasta. I used spaghettini for this dish. Spaghettini is thinner than the regular spaghetti.

What makes my shrimps and vegetable spaghetti recipe healthier than other spaghetti recipes? It is because I incorporated a mix of vegetables to it.

Shrimp and Vegetable Spaghettini
Here’s my shrimps and vegetable spaghetti recipe.

Ingredients:
400 grams Spaghettini
500 grams fresh shrimps, shelled and washed
1 large broccoli, cut into small florets
1 large red bell pepper, roasted and sliced into long strips
2 large fresh tomatoes, diced (or 200g sun-dried tomatoes)
5 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon dried basil
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Procedure:
1. Cook spaghettini according to instructions. Cook it al dente and reserve a little amount of the pasta water.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan.
3. Sauté minced garlic. Do not brown. Then, add the chili flakes.
4. Stir in shelled shrimps and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Add broccoli, stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the grilled bell pepper and diced tomatoes.
7. Season with salt, pepper and dried basil.
8. Toss in the cooked spaghettini.
9. Mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat. Drizzle with olive oil.

This recipe serves 4-5 persons.

I sliced the shrimps into half and the result was a twirled cooked shrimps which were delight to the eyes.

To add more herb flavor, use sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and chopped parsley.