People think Italian food needs to take a lot of time. Italian dishes can be manufactured with eons of time and care, but that's only because Italians, often, cook with a lot of love. Their food can be an art form beyond museum quality. Their tender attention to ingredients like that of an adoring parent. But the effort doesn't always have to be painstaking to produce fantastic Italian-style food results. When you want the richness, seasonings and flavor of Italian without all the effort, here are some dishes simplified for the quickest of weeknight meals.
Simple Pesto Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (fresh spinach leaves can serve as a substitute)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup pine nuts or finely-chopped walnuts
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Combine the basil and nuts in a food processor. Pulse. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
- Add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.
- Add cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and continue pulsing again until blended.
Serve pesto over fresh pasta, seafood, or cooked chicken.
If you want the taste of spaghetti and meatballs without the meatball effort, the following recipe provides the same great flavor, with half the work.
Pasta Bolognese (With Meat Sauce) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 8 oz. pasta
- ½ tablespoon garlic, diced
- 3 tablespoons diced onion
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- Brown ground beef in pan on stove with onions and garlic until no longer pink. Drain fat.
- Add vinegar, salt and pepper, tomatoes, tomato paste, hot sauce, and honey to pan and continue to cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes.
- To baking dish, add pasta, water, meat sauce and Mozzarella cheese. Stir until blended. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.
For more easy weeknight Italian-style recipes, visit Olive Garden’s online recipe resource.
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