Silvia Colloca's best-ever pasta recipes your whole family will love.

This first pasta dish breaks all the rules! This classic Pugliese offering begs you to forget all that you know about cooking pasta and to trust the process. Dried spaghetti is added uncooked to a stainless-steel or cast-iron pan in one layer (make sure your pan size can accommodate this, there is no breaking of spaghetti allowed here!).

The spaghetti is then cooked on one side before being flipped onto the other side to create a slightly crunchy and burnished look and flavour. A simple tomato and water broth is ladled over, in a way that borrows from the making of risotto, and in less than 10 minutes this uniquely tasty and visually stunning pasta dish is ready, perfect for late-night cravings.

Assassin's spaghetti.

Image: Supplied.Place 1 litre of water and the tomato paste in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, then set aside.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 75 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

• 1–2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1–2 bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced

• 400 ml passata

• Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

• 400 g dried spaghetti

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stainless-steel or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and chilli and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Tip in the passata, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3–5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly.

2. Add the spaghetti in one layer to the pan. Coat with the sauce and cook, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes to help caramelise the pasta. Use a spatula to roll your pasta over to start cooking the other side.

3. Start adding the reserved tomato water to the pan, 1–2 ladlefuls at a time, trying not to move the pasta around too much. Keep adding the tomato water to the pan as though you're adding stock to a risotto. Only stir very gently and occasionally. It will look like the pasta is sticking, and that's what you want. Keep doing this for 8–9 minutes until the pasta is al dente and most of the tomato water has been absorbed.

4. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Serve the pasta in bowls with an extra drizzle of olive oil, if liked. Eat straight away! Serves 4.

As tempting as it is to use a non-stick pan, resist the urge, as you will only ever achieve the intriguing texture of this dish in a stainless-steel or cast-iron pan.

Tubular Spaghetti With Quick Prawn Ragú.

Image: Supplied.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

• 1 spring onion, white & green parts finely chopped

• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

• 1 tbs finely chopped flat-leaf parsley stalks

• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

• 10 green prawns, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped

• 400g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) dry white wine

• Chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, to serve

• 400 gr of San Remo tubular spaghetti 

Watch: How to make the tubular spaghetti with quick prawn ragu here. Post continues after video.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the spring onion, chilli and parsley stalks and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the garlic and prawn meat and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Toss in the cherry tomatoes, then deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any bits caught on the base, and cook for 2 minutes or until the alcohol has evaporated. Remove from the heat. Taste for season and adjust to your liking. 

3. Drop the San Remo Tubular Spaghetti into the boiling water, stir well and cook until perfectly Al dente. Heat up the prawn sauce. 

4. Lift the San Remo Tubular Spaghetti out of the water with tongs and drop into the sauce, dragging along some pasta cooking water. Toss well to encourage the flavours to mingle. 

5. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Pantry pasta with chickpeas and cavolo nero.

Canned chickpeas are never missing from my pantry, as they are a true meal saver. You can add them to salads and soups or whiz them into submission to create velvety hummus, but my favourite is a rustic pot of pasta e ceci, brothy enough to be eaten with a spoon, yet more substantial than soup.

I like to up my pasta e ceci game by throwing cheese rind and pancetta into the pot, but, of course, you can skip that if you don't have those ingredients or if you are vegan. If you have some bitter greens in your vegetable crisper, this is the time to make them shine: cavolo nero, kale, silverbeet and even spinach all add amazing flavour to this nourishing meal.

When it comes to the type of pasta, Italians seem to prefer short, baby pasta, such as ditalini or maccheroni, or cut-up fresh e tagliatelle, which we call sagnette. I find smashed tagliatelle or pappardelle work beautifully, cook faster and add a lovely richness to the dish.

Image: Supplied.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 100 g piece of smoked pancetta (or speck), cut into small pieces

• 1 golden shallot, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, skin on, bashed with the back of a knife a few thyme sprigs

• 2 × 400 g cans chickpeas, rinsed and well drained 1 piece of parmigiano or pecorino rind

• salt flakes

• 500 ml (2 cups) passata

• 200 g dried pappardelle, smashed with your hands

• 1 bunch of cavolo nero

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the pancetta or speck and cook for 3–4 minutes until starting to caramelise. Add the shallot, garlic and thyme and cook for 1–2 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cheese rind and stir well. Season with some salt.

2. Add the passata to the pan, fill the empty bottle with water and add that to the pan as well. Reduce the heat to medium–low and cook for 25–30 minutes until slightly reduced. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking. Ыe liquid will have reduced a little, so add enough water to be able to cook the pasta straight in the pan.

3. Increase the heat to medium–high and bring to the boil. Add the pappardelle and a pinch of salt and stir so the pasta doesn't stick. Cook for 3–5 minutes until the pasta is al dente. You will notice that the natural starch in the pasta acts as a thickener.

4. While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cavolo nero by cutting out and discarding the central stalks and roughly chopping the leaves. Turn off the heat, add the chopped cavolo nero to the pan and allow the residual heat to wilt it and cook it gently. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.

5. Let the soup sit for a few minutes before serving, to allow the starch from the pasta to thicken it a little, or eat it straight away if you like it a bit soupy.

6. A generous sprinkling of grated pecorino and a drizzle of chilli oil is highly recommended. Serves 4.

Italian Family Food by Silvia Colloca, published by Plum, RRP $44.99, photography by Alan Benson.

Feature image: Supplied.

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