What to cook with pasta: 5 recipes

How to choose and store pasta

Dried pasta made from durum wheat holds its shape and doesn't go mushy; look for durum wheat semolina in the ingredients. Match the shape to the sauce: long spaghetti for carbonara and bolognese, short shapes like penne or fusilli for navy-style pasta, flat sheets for lasagne, and small noodles or broken vermicelli for soup.

Dry pasta keeps for a long time in a closed container in a dry cupboard. Cooked pasta keeps for two to three days in the fridge; toss it with a drop of oil so it doesn't stick together.

Egg noodles or thin vermicelli are best for chicken soup; they cook in minutes and are soft enough for children.

Tips for better pasta dishes

• Plenty of well-salted water. Pasta needs space to move; salt the water once it boils.
• Cook one minute less than the pack says if the pasta will finish in a sauce or in the oven.
• Save a mug of pasta water before draining: its starch helps carbonara turn silky and bolognese cling.
• Never rinse pasta for hot dishes; rinsing washes away the starch that holds the sauce.
• Cook noodles for soup separately if you plan to keep the soup for several days.

A pasta week: what to cook

• Monday: navy-style pasta with beef mince, 30 minutes.
• Wednesday: chicken noodle soup, with enough for the next day.
• Friday: spaghetti carbonara for two.
• Sunday: spaghetti bolognese, making extra sauce for a lasagne next weekend.

Leftovers, kids and budget

Leftover bolognese sauce is the start of lasagne; leftover pasta with sauce reheats well in a pan with a splash of water. Carbonara is best eaten straight away, so cook just what you need.

Children almost always welcome navy-style pasta and bolognese; for fussy eaters, grate carrot finely into the sauce. Pasta is one of the cheapest and most filling bases, and a pack stretches easily for a family.