Three Perfect Pasta Recipes for Delicious, Easy Suppers

Chef Stevie Parle started his career in some of the most internationally renowned restaurants – such as the River Café, Moro, Petersham Nurseries and the Spotted Pig in New York. He also spent this time travelling extensively through Asia, Europe and the Middle East which heavily influenced his cooking style and references.

In 2010, shortly after opening Dock Kitchen, his first solo restaurant on Portobello Docks, Stevie was named Young Chef of the Year, and in 2014 formed Stevie Parle Restaurants with business partner Liam Nelson. He has since opened Rotorino, Craft London, Palatino, Sardine and the critically acclaimed JOY pop-restaurant at Portobello Docks and later in Marylebone Village.

Named as Restaurateur of the year at the GQ Food and Drink Awards in 2021, Stevie’s primary focus is now his casual fresh pasta brand Pastaio, which opened in Soho in 2017. He has also written countless recipe features, several books and presented a food documentary series for Channel 4.

What we love most about Stevie’s recipes is that there’s always something for everyone to enjoy and are such a pleasure to make. Of course, there’s always a little preparation required in order that you have all the ingredients to hand, but the satisfaction you get from making a delicious meal from scratch simply can’t be beaten. You’ll find that one of the recipes shows you how to make fresh pasta, but if time doesn’t permit, simply use fresh store bought or good quality dried pasta.

In addition, if you haven’t yet visited Pastaio, we highly recommend adding it to your restaurant list. It’s the perfect go-to in central London, and conveniently located just off Carnaby Street. It’s ideal when you need a restaurant to please all palettes, as well as something at a decent price point. Plus, you can be sure the pasta has been made fresh that very same day.

Sausage Ragu alla Rotorino

If you thought sausages were just for eating with mash, you were wrong. This recipe grabs all those amazing, cured pork flavours and lifts them up with some extra garlic, fennel seed and chilli. This is a brilliant mid-week meal and doesn’t require too much attention. Try to find Italian sausages as they have a better texture than the typical British one.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 dried red chilli, crushed
• 400g Italian sausages
• 120ml red wine
• 1 x 400g tin tomatoes, drained and rinsed
• 400g Malloredus, Conchiglie or Orecchiette
• 120g grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
• A couple of handfuls of fresh fennel herb or oregano leaves, chopped

Method 

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole pan over a medium heat and add the onion and a pinch of salt. Leave to fry gently for 10 minutes, then add the garlic. When it begins to colour and starts to become sticky, add the fennel and dried chilli.
2. Squeeze the sausage meat out the skins and into the pan. Fry until the meat colours, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks.
3. Pour in the wine and let it reduce by half before adding the tomatoes, breaking them up with your spoon. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1 ½ hours until the sauce is tender in texture and intense in flavour. Add a few splashes of water if it looks a little dry.
4. Once the sauce is ready, bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water.
5. Stir the pasta into the sausage sauce, then add most of the Parmesan, fennel herb and a little cooking water to make a nice consistency. Transfer to plates and serve immediately with a little extra Parmesan if you like.

Ragu alla Bolognese

This dish needs no introduction except to say that the key to success is cooking your soffrito for at least 15 minutes until super sweet and soft – this gives the sauce that extra depth of flavour. You also want to be sure that you get some nice colour when frying your meat.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 150g sausage meat
• 300g beef mince
• 120ml red wine
• 1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes, drained and rinsed
• 10g porcini, soaked in boiling water
• 1 sprig each of thyme and rosemary

Method

1. Warm the olive oil over a medium heat and fry the onion, celery, carrot and add the garlic with a pinch of salt for 15 minutes until soft and sweet.
2. Turn the heat up and add the meat, frying until it’s coloured but the veg isn’t burnt. Add the wine and allow to reduce by half, then add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your spoon.
3. Chop up the softened porcini, then add to the pan along with their soaking water and enough water to come two-thirds up the side of the meat. Add the herbs, then leave to simmer for 1 ½ – 2 hours until the sauce is tender in texture and intense in flavour.
4. Serve with a hard pasta such as penne or an egg pasta such as tagliatelle with a good sprinkling of Parmesan.

Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle

This is one of the best ways to celebrate wild mushroom season and is one of those classic Italian dishes that just needs a handful of ingredients to make something delicious. The texture of the mushrooms works particularly well with fresh pasta, but spaghetti or linguine would be fine too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 300g ‘00’ flour, plus extra to dust
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tbsp thyme leaves
• 400g wild mushrooms (I like girolles), brushed clean and ripped into half or quarters
• 40g creme fraiche
• 80g grated Parmesan, plus extra, to serve
• 2 big handfuls of parsley leaves, chopped

Method

1. Pile up the flour, then make a well in the centre, and add the eggs and oil. Start whisking with a fork to combine the flour and egg, slowly incorporating more and more of the flour from the edges as you go along. Keep going until it just begins to come together, then with your hands, start pressing the mixture together to form a dough.
2. Knead for at least 10 minutes, checking if you’ve kneaded the dough enough by pressing your finger into the centre – the dough should spring back to its original shape. Wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for an hour to rest.
3. Cut the dough into quarters and keep the pieces you’re not using under a tea towel. Start the pasta machine on its widest setting and pass your dough through it. Fold one side of the piece into the middle, then fold the other side over that to form three layers, as if you’re folding a letter. Pass it through the machine again, then repeat another 3 times before moving to the next setting. Move through the settings (there’s no need to fold), dusting the dough with extra flour as needed, until you get to the second-to-thinnest setting.
4. To cut the pasta sheets into tagliatelle, roll the sheets up and cut into 0.75cm strips. Unravel the cut tagliatelle strips and twirl into little nests. Dust the nests liberally with flour to stop them from sticking. Put to one side while you make the sauce.
5. Bring a pan of salted boiling water to the boil. Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Fry the garlic for a few minutes until beginning to soften, then add the thyme leaves, followed by the mushrooms. Fry, stirring often for 4-5 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften, then add the creme fraiche. Season lightly, then take off the heat.
6. Add the pasta to the water and cook for 2 – 2 ½ minutes until tender, then drain, reserving a cup of pasta water. Return the mushroom pan to the heat and add the Parmesan and parsley and a big splash of pasta water. Add the hot pasta and stir well to make a delicious emulsion, adding more pasta water as needed until you have a sauce that coats the pasta. Transfer to plates and serve with a little extra Parmesan if you like.