Fusilli

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

If canned unsweetened coconut milk is not readily available in your area, you may substitute 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tablespoon sweetened flaked coconut. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Cook: Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Source: Cucinaamore.com It's difficult to imagine a more mundane-sounding dish than Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce — and yet this extremely simple pasta is a breakthrough, not like any other you've ever eaten. And so good you'll make it again and again. The sauce is made from roasted cherry tomatoes, very ripe ones. These diminutive tomatoes with the big taste are then covered with a cheesey-garlicky-bread crumb mixture and set in the oven. Just before serving, you tear some basil leaves into the roasted tomato mixture and that's your sauce, right in the oven dish: add some corkscrew or butterfly pasta and you have dinner. Italian cookbook author Nancy Harmon Jenkins points out that the ony trick to this dish is using really ripe cherry tomatoes'which are easy to find all year long. If they're not available, use any red, ripe tomatoes and quarter them.

This dish, a specialty of northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna, is named for the regions capital city. Although the meaty sauce is classically paired with tagliatelle (ribbon pasta just slightly wider than fettuccine), it also marries well with a variety of pasta shapes that trap the savory sauce.

"Mi Piaci, a local restaurant, serves a pasta entrée with wild mushrooms called Fusilli alla Boscaiola," says Karen Mungioli, of Dallas, Texas. "Its flavors reminded me of a dish I had in Italy recently. I’d love to try my hand at preparing this authentic-tasting recipe in my home kitchen."

Delicious with roasted meats or chicken.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Accompany this robust salad with crusty bread and serve grapes for dessert.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 30 min

Full-flavored and hearty, this classic pasta dish with bacon and tomato sauce is always a hit. Top it with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.

Caramelized fennel is a revelation, especially when tossed with hot pasta and lots of Parmesan.

A bright and punchy side that’s as good enjoyed right away, after a few hours, or even chilled.