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Four simple and authentic Italian recipes to make this weekend

Need some inspiration in the kitchen? Here are some quick and easy recipes which, like many of the best Italian dishes, use as few as three ingredients.

Four simple and authentic Italian recipes to make this weekend
How can just three ingredients taste so good? Photo: Pasta alla gricia by Luca Nebuloni - CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia

While we all have more time to cook at home right now, we're also limiting trips to the supermarket, which means complex dishes are out of the question. But luckily, some of the best Italian recipes are so simple that they won't require another trip to the shops. Here are a couple of our favourites.

READ ALSO: 'Food helps': The coping strategies getting people through quarantine in Italy

Pasta alla gricia

If you think pasta needs tomato sauce, let this Roman classic prove you wrong. Pasta alla gricia is an ancient way of preparing pasta, before tomatoes took over Italian cuisine.

Ingredients (4 servings)

400 g rigatoni, tortiglioni, or penne pasta
200 g guanciale (if you can't find it, pancetta will do), diced
150 g grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

See the full recipe here.

Spaghetti alla carbonara

One of the best-known and loved Italian delicacies: the creaminess of the eggs contrasting with the crispy guanciale makes it a pleasure to eat. And you'll be pleased to know that the authentic version only has three ingredeints.

Ingredients

  • 360 g spaghetti

  • 120 g guanciale

  • 4 eggs yolks

  • 1 whole egg

  • 150 g Pecorino Romano

  • salt and pepper to taste

See the full recipe here.

Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

 

Pugliese green beans in tomato sauce

Try making this quick and easy dish from southern Italy as a healthy side dish, or a suprisingly tasty pasta sauce to serve with spaghetti and grated cheese. Using mainly storecupbard ingredients, it's very quick and easy to make.

Ingredients (4 servings)

500 g green beans
250 g chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chopped parsley
A pinch of crushed chilli pepper
Salt to taste

See the full recipe here.

 

Bruschetta with tomatoes and basil

Cheap, simple and delicious, bruschetta is the perfect snack or appetiser. While the recipe ideally calls for fresh bread, it also works a great way to use up yesterday's loaf. If you've run out of fresh basil you can also sprinkle a little dried oregano over the tomatoes..

Ingredients (4 servings):

500 g sliced bread
700 g cherry tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
Extra-virgin olive oil
A few basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

See the full recipe here.

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