12 dishes to master during National Pasta Month

Become a noodle master

Celebrate Italian pasta this October: it's National Pasta Month (U.S.) and World Pasta Day on October 25th. Cook your way through these 12 Italian classics; you’ll get a taste of Italy's regional specialties including the classic Roman Carbonara, Pesto Genovese from Liguria, Bolognese sauce from Emilia-Romagna and more.

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1. Aglio e Olio

Spaghettini Aglio e Olio

from The Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuliano Hazan

“This dish has been my savior for many a late-night hunger craving. It is quick and easy, and with a good quality pasta and olive oil, immensely satisfying. The trick is to Sauté the garlic enough to release its flavor without letting it brown, which would make it bitter.”

2. Fresh Tomato and Basil

Fresh Tomato & Basil Pasta

from Healthy in a Hurry by Karen Ansel and Charity Ferreira

“This celebration of tomatoes is a nearly no-cook pasta dish, perfect for summer evenings when it’s too hot to linger at the stove. Reserve this delicious pasta for when tomatoes are juicy and at their peak; the rest of the year, substitute tomato sauce.”

3. Ragù alla Bolognese

Classic Bolognese Meat Sauce

from How to Cook Italian by Giuliano Hazan

“Ragù is a generic term for a slow-cooked meat sauce usually with tomatoes. This is the famous meat sauce of Emilia Romagna (of which Bologna is the capital) . . . Its classic pairing is with homemade tagliatelle or pappardelle, and I would be hard pressed to think of a more satisfying dish.”

4. Pesto alla Genovese

Genoese Basil Pesto

from The Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuliano Hazan

Pesto comes from the word “pestare”, a reference to the traditional way pesto is made—mashed with mortar and pestle. The dish comes from the region of Liguria, the region famous for it’s small fragrant sweet basil. In Liguria the most typical way to serve pesto is with the trennette or trofie varieties of pasta, with boiled green beans and sliced potatoes.

5. Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara

from The Weeknight Cook by Brigit Binns

Carbonara is the famous Roman pasta dish whose sauce is made by tossing hot pasta with raw eggs. The hot pasta cooks the egg and results in a luxuriously silky sauce.

6. Pasta alle Vongole

Spaghetti Vongole

from The Food I Love by Neil Perry

“This is one of my very favourite pastas and one of the simplest seafood pasta dishes you can make. I love shelling the little clams (vongole) and slurping the pasta, coated with lots of garlic, parsley and clam juice.”

7. Pasta Puttanesca

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

from Anna Del Conte on Pasta by Anna Del Conte

“This now-famous recipe from Rome has its origins in the poor district of Trastevere, the traditional haunt of Roman prostitutes. Its name (a puttana is a prostitute) no doubt owes something to the fact that it is a hot sauce, very quickly made. It is also delicious.”

8. Pasta alla Norma

Pasta alla Norma

from Classic Italian Cooking by Valentina Harris

A classic Sicilian pasta dish of eggplant and tomato.

“One of Sicily’s very best recipes, which is as dramatic and exciting to look at as it is delicious to eat.”

9. Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe

from How to Cook Italian by Giuliano Hazan

“This is the dish most often associated with Apulia, the region of Italy where the spur and the heel of the boot are . . . Broccoli rabe (sometimes called rapini) with olive oil, garlic, and anchovies is the classic sauce served with orecchiette. The broccoli rabe is cooked with the pasta, which absorbs some of it’s flavor.”