There’s a saying that goes “If you’re tired of pasta, you’re tired of life”. Ok so that’s not the original quote but we think it should be, because pasta truly is the everyman’s dish. Somehow pasta manages to be everything from simple to satisfying to rib-sticking and hearty and everything in between. This month we tackled the much-feared fresh pasta, to show just how easy it is. We’ve put together four impressive and tasty recipes for you to try your hand at.

Beetroot Ravioli with Brown Butter and Poppy Seeds

There’s something special about this dish. The beetroot are roasted and pureéd, then mixed with creamy ricotta, which makes a rich filling that’s somehow still quite light. If there was ever a time to follow the recipe and roast your beetroot instead of boiling, this is it. It adds such depth of flavour. Despite all the creaminess coming from the filling, the brown butter is the perfect sauce to drizzle all over it. Don’t be scared when making your brown butter, you really want a deep nutty colour so don’t take it off the heat until it’s quite dark.

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Pappardelle with Cauliflower Purée, Crispy Cauliflower and Peas

This dish is set to become apart of your pasta arsenal. A creamy cauliflower purée is pepped up with crispy florets and peas, all interlaced and entwined with fresh pappardelle. The thickness of the pasta really does pick up all of the little bits of flavour, but you could in theory use any pasta you like. The purée is the real showstopper here and you’ll physically have to hold yourself back from licking the plate clean.

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Roast Chicken Cappelletti served with Chicken Broth

If you love chicken soup (and honestly, who doesn’t?), then this recipe will make you exceptionally happy. Chicken stock is cooked and reduced with Parmesan rinds and browned onion, garlic and herbs for an intense rich flavour. One thing that we will stress is good quality chicken stock. Either make it yourself, or buy from your local butchery – you really want the chicken flavour to shine through. The next time you’re at a loss for a way to use up a roast chicken, try this on for size. It’s decidedly better than old chicken mayo sarmies.

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Linguine with Kale Pesto, Salt Baked Beetroot and Crispy Chickpeas

Move over basil, there’s a new pesto in town. While we’ll always love the classics, putting kale and rocket together works wonderfully. This pesto is also quite forgiving in that it’s to throw together and is relatively inexpensive because there are no nuts included. Salt baking the beetroot may seem like a waste of time but you really can taste the difference. The beetroot is sweeter, due to the salt crust almost condensing its flavour. The best thing about this recipe is its versatility, it makes a great dinner but is still great even at room temperature as a sort of fancy pasta salad.

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