My Idea of Fast Food

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Whenever I need to make a quick dinner, my go to meal is always something made with pasta. Having my pantry stocked with a variety of pasta shapes, we never ever get bored! There’s always fresh vegetables handy here and using just a few other basic Italian staples you can get something fresh, fabulous and fast on the table in less than 30 minutes!

My pasta of choice for this meal was Tripoline which looks like the long curly edges of lasagne. Put a pot of water on for the pasta and while that’s heating up, take a saute pan and drizzle the bottom with olive oil then add in 4 or 5 cloves of chopped garlic. When the garlic gets golden brown toss in a pint or more of cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half and seasoned with salt and pepper, cook gently until softened.
Drain the pasta ( I used a 1/2 lb.) and stir it into the skillet. Add a handful of arugula or two, and 1/2 cup of cubed and drained fresh mozzarella, asiago is good too! Toss until the leaves wilt and the cheese melts slightly. Add some reserved pasta water if needed, more olive oil and a generous handful of grated romano or parmesan cheese.
The combination of flavors blend so well together it might not make it to the table!
Just saying!

No doubt you’ll have some arugula leftover, don’t waste it, toss it into a bowl and make this incredible salad of arugula, shaved fennel, toasted walnuts with a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, all topped off with thin shavings of Grana Padano.

This is so good, I promise you’ll want to make it over and over again!
Buon Appetito!
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Comments

  1. Hi, this dish looks amazing! where can I buy tripoline pasta??? I have never been able to find it in stores!

    Thanks!

  2. i followed your recipe to the t but substituted my own shit for the pasta. delicious!

  3. I tried this recipe- so simple but very good! Great blog- just found you! 🙂

  4. I LOVE your fast food! That pasta up top looks incredible. When I have leftover bruschetta tomatoes, I throw them into pasta… I’ll have to try it with arugula next time.

  5. That is what I call good fast food as well!

  6. I recently discovered your blog and was very excited to try this simple but comforting looking dish. It was delicious and so easy to throw together. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the tripoline but spaghetti worked just as well. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!

  7. London foodie says

    Am a huge fan of this dish and even bigger fan of your blog. All of your recipes are so appealing and seems to be home cooking with a great creative flair! Please keep posting your delicious recipes!

  8. Nice chioce the tripolini. I saw them in a traditional naples pasta dish named Pasta e fagoli (pasta and bean soup) Also I used the same ingredientes mix for cook orecchietti with cherry tomatoes,using tomatoes preserved in brine becasue the english tomatoes will never taste so sweet like in the Apulia area. http://kitchenvoyage.blogspot.

  9. What a fun pasta shape…never seem them before except on the edges of lasagna.

  10. These meals sound delicious and my idea of fast food is similar to yours! Except I use bulgur !

  11. Hi! i’m italian! i love your blog! i have a simil idea of Fast Food! Complimenti !

  12. The simplest is always the best.
    Arugula, pomodorini and parmesan is the topping they put on a ‘Positano’ pizza but after it’s cooked!

  13. Love, love, love pasta and arugula!! This looks fantastic. I have never seen that pasta before but I will be looking for it. Thanks 🙂

  14. Fast, and fabulous! And healthy, too. Another win, Marie. xo,

  15. De-lightful. love it <3

  16. I love pasta and although I have been trying to diet and avoid carbs(except for our recent get together..lol)I have to admit a pasta dish graces our table at least once a week! I love the Tripoline shape!

  17. I’m with you, Marie! That’s my go-to meal, too. In fact, I just made a quickie cappellini with garden spinach and lots of garlic. Simply divine. I love your Tripoline!

  18. Hi, just found your blog via A Feast for the Eyes and am so happy. Lots of wonderful looking recipes and related content. Plus, having grown up and lived in Chicago, it brings back wonderful memories!

  19. looked so good I made it for dinner!!! only I had spinach in my frig….so yummy!!! Thanks for helping me out! 🙂

  20. Yum! My kind of meal! Pasta is my fast food go to meal too. The first time I served my oldest son a bowl of tripoline he said it looked like octopus tentacles. I think he was about 3 or 4 when he said that. Kids!

  21. Looks delicious and simple.

  22. When I have no idea what to make for dinner, I roast a pint of cherry tomatoes in the oven w/ olive oil & kosher salt, splash them with balsamic and throw them in w/ penne, kalamata olives and toss them w/ fresh basil (and arugula if I have it). I could eat it everyday!

  23. That pasta looks like so much fun!! What a great dinner, fresh and fast. Can’t beat that.

  24. That tripoline pasta shape is adorable. I’ll take fast food any day if it looks like this. I’ve been eating arugula from my garden in the last week so this salad is just my style.

  25. Perfect! This looks amazing.

  26. Yes, pasta is definitely my favorite go-to. I’m such a pasta hoarder, that it’s ridiculous! I can’t wait for my homegrown tomatoes to be ready. I see lots of quick pastas with all these pretty colors in them!
    PS: I made my first homemade pasta in my Atlas pasta maker. It’s a bit messy, but it’s fun!!

  27. You have my vote for fast food! Oh wow this looks wonderful!

  28. My go-to fast meals are indeed pasta. Fast and slow, at home or on vacation – it feeds the soul. My soul has been well-fed in Chicago. Chilling before the ride home. If I had a kitchen – I’d be cooking this.

  29. Wow, if all fast food were like this…

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