Notes about Recipes in this book

• Neapolitan maccherino soup (Zuppa Napoletana coi maccheroni in brodo colorito)

  • Zosia on April 11, 2015

    Even with an added Parmesan rind, the soup didn't cook long enough for the broth to develop much flavour, and between the oil used to cook the onions (I reduced it to 1 tbsp) and the fat in the (extra lean) ground beef, it was just too greasy for me.

• Broccoli soup with pasta (Zuppa di pasta e broccoli)

  • Rinshin on April 01, 2020

    The taste is dependent on stock used, and serving without letting it sit out. The color was a beautiful shade of light lime when first made, but since I made It ahead in the day, the color became drab green with noticeable taste fading few hours later. I would reduce the amount of pasta as well because they tend to swell as leftovers. Served with Parmesan cheese. Very clean tasting soup pasta.

• Fettuccine with spring vegetables (Fettuccine primavera)

  • Zosia on February 21, 2014

    Though most of the vegetables weren't particularly spring-like and I substituted broccoli for the the only one that was, this was a very tasty variation of the classic dish thanks to the step that has you caramelize the vegetables. I used only 1 tbsp butter and replaced half the cream with vegetable broth - it was less rich but still very flavourful.

  • nicolepellegrini on April 22, 2017

    This is a solid, and tasty, version of primavera—though with all the dicing of vegetables and satueeing/cooking steps I daresay it really isn't a 30-minute meal to prepare. Do be careful to not overcook all the vegetables — while the carrots and onions benefit from the caramelization, I cook the asparagus for less time if young and tender, or else they'll be mush. I substitute whole milk for heavy cream and it's still very rich and tasty.

• Spaghetti with creamy basil pesto (Spaghetti al pesto Ligure quagliata)

  • TrishaCP on June 24, 2019

    I liked this, but I only used half of the pasta called for, but all of the pesto ingredients. The ricotta dulls down the flavor of the pesto, and it would not have stood up to a whole pound of pasta.

• Penne with peppers, fresh tomato, and basil (Penne ai peperoni e pomodoro fresco)

  • adrienneyoung on September 04, 2012

    Made as written and, sadly, meh. Not a keeper.

• Fusilli with a rainbow-colored sauce (Fusilli arcobaleno)

  • nicolepellegrini on July 26, 2016

    This is just "ok", a bit bland without the addition of some other fresh herbs, stock or some cheese. I've made it twice with similar results, this time jazzing it up at the end with a little bit of pesto.

• Penne with mushrooms and zucchini (Penne ai funghi e zucchine)

  • nicolepellegrini on October 28, 2019

    This was fine, simple, but nothing extraordinary.

• Fusilli with zucchini and mint (Fusilli alle zucchine e mentuccia)

  • Zosia on June 02, 2014

    Another delicious quick-cooked pasta dish from this author, this one flavoured with caramelized onions and zucchini, and fresh herbs. I used only half the oil.

  • nicolepellegrini on June 26, 2020

    I do love zucchini and mint together. The fresh herbs added a lovely Spring flavor to the dish and gave it some more depth than it would have had otherwise. Nice way to use up some zucchini I had to cook fast!

• Linguine with zucchini and onions (Linguine alle zucchine e cipolle)

  • nicolepellegrini on April 08, 2021

    This was incredibly simple and delicious. The yellow onions slowly browned in butter gave it a sweet and rich base, and the squash (I used yellow instead of green) came out just right. Too many ingredients would have covered up the delicate flavor of the squash, I think.

• Spaghetti with carrots (Spaghetti alle carote)

  • britt on August 08, 2012

    I've reduced the relative amount of pasta to 12ozs, and I don't chop the parsley, but I really like this. A favorite quick meal.

• Penne with mushrooms and fresh tomatoes (Penne alla boscaiola)

  • nicolepellegrini on February 11, 2023

    I've made this a few times and it's pleasant enough (and easy for a night I don't want to fuss.)

• Spaghetti with scallops (Spaghetti alle cappe sante)

  • nicolepellegrini on December 19, 2020

    Outstanding! So far the best pasta I've made from this cookbook. While it's a simple recipe, I liked the way it uses both minced and larger pieces of scallops - seemed to add to the overall flavor and richness of this dish in that the scallop flavor infused every bite.

• Farfalle with fresh salmon (Farfalle al salmone)

  • nicolepellegrini on April 21, 2021

    Very easy and incredibly filling!

• Penne with asparagus and prosciutto (Penne agli asparagi e prosciutto)

  • nicolepellegrini on June 04, 2015

    Really nice, simple but satisfying dinner to make on a busy night. I used whole milk instead of cream and added a little fresh mushroom along with the asparagus. Would make again no question.

• Spaghetti with cauliflower and pancetta (Spaghetti al cavolfiore e pancetta)

  • nicolepellegrini on March 04, 2019

    This was decent, but not my favorite cauliflower pasta recipe I've made. Was still a bit bland and needed a lot of salt and cheese to kick up the flavor, and I felt it needed some fresh green herbs or perhaps crunchy breadcrumbs to liven up the texture and taste.

• Pappardelle with shiitake mushrooms (Pappardella ai funghi, pancetta e pomodorini)

  • adrienneyoung on March 17, 2014

    The Hazan family: the great saviours of the midweek dinner! Heroic.

  • TrishaCP on October 19, 2015

    This made for a tasty, easy, and (relatively) quick mid-week pasta dish. I did think the shiitakes were a bit strong for this dish and I would have preferred a milder mushroom. My pancetta was fatty and needed more cooking time than specified - next time I would probably throw it in with the onions. I took some time back by using about 3/4 cup of crushed tomatoes (what I had on hand) instead of the grape tomatoes.

• Fusilli with sausage and zucchini (Fusilli alla salsiccia e zucchine)

  • nicolepellegrini on February 19, 2026

    I liked this quite a bit, and the husband LOVED it. Sometimes I feel like zucchini pasta dishes can be kind of bland, but the sausage really added another layer to this one - and in turn, the zucchini gave the sauce a sweeter flavor than one just using tomatoes and sausage. I did use Joshua McFadden's technique of stirring in the finely grated parmesan along with the pasta water to emulsify it and really incorporate it into the sauce (vs just having some cheese on top.) Would definitely make again and this is a great weeknight dinner for when you don't have a lot of time or energy.

• Farfalle with salami and tomatoes (Farfalle al salame e pomodoro)

  • nicolepellegrini on September 11, 2018

    Super-easy, fast and tasty. Great for a weeknight when you've got limited ingredients on hand and need a flavorful meal quick.

• Penne with radicchio (Penne al radicchio rosso)

  • kari500 on February 16, 2021

    Delicious and easy. One fairly big radicchio was plenty. White vermouth for most of the water, and more cream. Served over farfalle. Might precook the (turkey) bacon next time so that it gets more texture.

• Bucatini with fresh tomatoes and thyme (Bucatini al pomodoro e timo)

  • TrishaCP on April 29, 2016

    This was bland and the thyme was indiscernible. It was much better after adding dried red pepper flakes.

• Penne with mushrooms and ham (Penne ai funghi e prosciutto)

  • Zosia on November 09, 2016

    Delicious with great depth of flavour thanks to the dried porcini and it came together quickly - more quickly than I expected and than the instructions stated so I'll start my pasta sooner next time.

  • nicolepellegrini on October 27, 2025

    My husband LOVED this (and I thought it was pretty good, too!) Great way to use up some leftover baked ham (I added more than the recipe called for because I had a LOT.) Used Joshua McFadden's technique for adding the cheese at the end with a little pasta water to thicken/emulsify the sauce (especially as I used light instead of heavy cream) and it worked wonders. Also finished with a little chopped parsley just to brighten the dish since it was rather heavy/"brown" without it.

• Fusilli with sausage, ricotta, and fresh tomatoes (Fusilli alla salsiccia e ricotta)

  • TrishaCP on July 19, 2017

    This was really good. The fresh tomatoes and basil keep it really fresh tasting- though because of the water content of my tomatoes, I needed significantly more time to cook the sauce than specified. (Probably 30 minutes more.) I used chicken sausages, about a pound to stretch the meal further.

• Yum.Fi

  There is no shortage of pasta books in the marketplace and it is not clear that this book falls into the top tier of those available particularly when it is priced as a premium product (ebook).

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  Nothing satisfies quite like pasta—particularly when the recipe comes from master teacher Giuliano Hazan. ...you'll find tempting options and plenty of pointers to help you achieve delicious results.

  Full review

• David's Table

  Hazan’s craft as a teacher has enabled him to structure the preparation tasks so as to make the most of your 30 minutes of cooking time.

  Full review