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These Thai-inspired peanut noodles with shrimp and snow peas are fast and fabulous.
Not my Nana’s noodles
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Jack Bishop
Author, editor, and avid home cook
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My grandmother Katherine Pizzarello was an incredible cook. She instilled in me an early love of pasta. Decades later, noodles remain a lifelong passion because these culinary shapeshifters are never boring. This week’s recipes demonstrate the range of what’s possible, even on a busy weeknight.
Recipe-ready coconut milk, peanut butter, and jarred red curry paste make Spicy Peanut Noodles with Shrimp and Snow Peas a snap to prepare. Start by crisping up chopped peanuts in hot vegetable oil, reserve them on a plate, and then sauté the shrimp in the peanut-infused oil. Set the shrimp aside and make the creamy peanut sauce in the empty skillet in just 5 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti in a Dutch oven, adding sliced snow peas to the pot during the final 30 seconds. Finish with lime zest and juice and garnish with the fried peanuts. Now that’s one exciting bowl of noodles!
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Mexican Green Spaghetti might resemble basil pesto, but in this case looks are very deceiving. This pureed sauce starts with roasted poblano peppers so it’s vegetal, smoky, and just a little spicy. A single jalapeño (it’s optional but I encourage its inclusion) adds more heat, while a whopping 2 cups of cilantro completes the trifecta of green ingredients. Cream cheese, milk, and sour cream make the sauce silky and rich, while chicken bouillon powder provides savoriness (vegetarians should substitute salt, to taste). Cook this blender sauce for several minutes to heat through the dairy ingredients and develop flavors.
My Nana started so many dishes by toasting sliced garlic in olive oil to highlight its sweetness, and Linguine with Chickpeas and Zucchini does the same. Shredded zucchini and canned chickpeas are then added to the pan so they can pick up all that garlicky goodness. Use a potato masher to create a cohesive but still chunky sauce. Finish with Pecorino (use milder Parmesan if you prefer), parsley, and lemon juice. Buon appetito, as my Nana would say before every meal.
Mapo Eggplant Pasta replaces the usual tofu with another ingredient capable of soaking up the bold flavors in this saucy dish. Eggplant works really well with the ground beef and traditional mapo seasonings. A cornstarch slurry gives the sauce a velvety quality so that it coats the rigatoni, inside and out. A finishing hit of chili crisp makes this dish a 10.
My Nana loved spicy, cheesy dishes, so I’m guessing she would have enjoyed Gochujang Chicken and Tortellini. Inspired by Korean cooking expert Maangchi’s recipe for buldak, or Korean fire chicken, this recipe doubles down on the cheesiness by replacing the sliced rice cakes in her recipe with store-bought cheese tortellini. Simmer chopped boneless chicken thighs in a potent mix of gochujang, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Stir in boiled tortellini, blanket everything with shredded fontina, and then run the pan under the broiler. Tame the fire with ice-cold beers.
Does weeknight cooking have a better ally than pasta? I think not.
P.S. I’m not alone in my pasta obsession. My colleagues have put together this collection of creative weeknight noodle dishes, with several brand-new recipes. I can’t wait to try Spring Vegetable Pasta with Crispy Mortadella and Pistachio Cream.
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