presto pasta nights: an abundance of inspiration

update : links have now been put in for all the entries.

thanks to everyone who contributed a delicious dish to this week’s presto pasta nights. there are some fabulous ideas here, so get ready to bookmark your favourites...

first up is kittie from kittens in the kitchen. like me, kittie has been suffering the vagaries of a british summer - cold, wet and grey. however, in a moment of madness inspiration, she decided to pretend it really is summer with this fresh tasting fusilli with macerated tomatoes and garlic.

more suited to this crazy weather is lasagne and we have several delicious looking options this week. first, a vegetarian version from were rabbits. jokergirl's recipe has a few tricks within it to cut back on the work but not the taste.

pam and her tennessee sidewalk shoes, suggests we try her pasta with chorizo, tomatoes and green olives. made with delicious heirloom tomatoes this is packed with spanish flavour.

aimei's baking cottage is usually full of sweet treats but this week, after a few baking disasters, she is joining the ppn gang with her favourite pasta - linguine aglio olio. pasta, garlic, olive oil plus some bacon, shitake mushrooms and basil to pep it up, this is the perfect dish to turn to when your kitchen is challenging you!

yasmeen is a self-confessed health nut whose focus on finding the best ingredients saw her choose yellow carrots for her carrot and avocado pasta salad.

aparently they are less sweet than their purple, orange, maroon or white counterparts.

there are so many gorgeous dishes on here it is hard to choose a favourite but jin hooi's sweet bean paste pasta is really intriguing me. smell & taste are my memory is her blog and she is drawing on her asian memories to create this fusion dish which looks wonderful.

kitchenetta is lactose intolerant and her blog got no milk is full of wonderful dairy-free recipes, both sweet and savoury. this vietnamese chicken noodle salad is full of fresh healthy flavours.

ning's heart and hearth has rcipes from all round the world including many which reflect her chinese-filipino heritage. however, this cheesy beefy lasagne owes more to her daughter's desire for some pasta.

orrechiette, as angela from a spoonful of sugar tells us, means little ears and is a fabulous and very versatile pasta. this orrechiette with broccoli and chilli is just the sort of healthy vegetable-focussed dish i love.

anna's morsels and musings are always interesting and this vietanmese lemongrass beef noodle salad is no exception.

anna serves her salad warm but i bet it'd be just fine at any temperature given the tangy nuoc cham dressing, herby noodles and tender just-cooked steak.

sharona from bird food shares with us a dish which she describes as "unique and delicious" - pasta with cauliflower and capers. i think i need to try this!

garlic sausage and spaghetti - now that is a pasta dish that you just know is going to be delicious. and if you need convincing further, the fact that it's the creation of the lovely gay, a scientist in the kitchen, should be all you need to know. yum!

drunken pasta, how delicious! actually, according to choos and chews, it's penne with roasted tomatoes, basil and vodka-sundried tomato cream sauce. i've made my own version of this dish over the years and it is delicious, especially if you feel like being a little naughty!

new zealander gilli from so so simple has been getting busy in the kitchen this week and has two delicious looking dishes for us!

first of all we have gorgeous homemade leek and parmesan ravioli which she serves with some roast lamb.

using similar flavours, gilli also suggests we try her lasagne which is layered with a meat and tomato sauce plus leek and ricotta. and more cheese. gilli knows there can never be too much cheese!

what smells so good? that's a question any cook likes to have askedof them and i am sure that this nuclear nightshade pasta dish that sarah has cooked up would have prompted it. like me, sarah decided she liked aubergines quite late in life - she's in for some delicious treats!

we now have a turkey, vegetable and anthotyro lasagne courtesy of ivy from kopiaste. anthotyro is a low fat greek cheese which, combined with the turkey (a very low fat meat) and all the veggies which ivy adds, makes this a very healthy option.

here in the uk, asparagus season is over for this year but mrs ergul in the kitchen, who lives in singapore, has some an has put it to very good use. mushroom,spring onion and asparagus linguine to be precise! this dish was inspired by a meal she ate at a local restaurantant which is always great for developing new and creative approaches to cooking.

haalo from cook (almost) anything at least once seems to have a never-ending supply of different types of pasta. this week she is cooking with rye twists which are just made from rye flour and water - very purist. until, that is, haalo smothers them in a tomato sauce which is then topped with bechamel and cheese. baked rye twists - delish!

foni is the first food blogger i've "met" who comes from panama - i'm really looking forward to getting to know lets eat a bit better! this week she is sharing spicy fettucine with homemade paneer - wonderful creative cooking!

pasta served atop an omelette. kerazy! well, according to teczcape it's not so crazy - it is inspired by omuraisu, a japanese dish which wraps rice in a layer of omelette. apparently it is similar to eggs with ketchup too.

genovese pesto, what a treat! like judith from think on it! i am a huge fan of the delicious and verstalie peppery basil. her ligurian pesto is the result of a tough summer encouraging her basil plants to grow but what a great result.

the equal opportunity kitchen has been celebrating recently - a bar mitzvah to be precise. mazal tov! as a result psychgrad has been keeping busy in the kitchen as there were 40 hungry mouths to feed. this colourful penne salad contains artichokes, olives, feta cheese, peppers, cucumber and tomatoes -what a delicous and colourful combination!

daphne is right, it takes more than words - a picture is essential in conveying how delicious her baked filled pasta is.

she uses spinach and ricotta ravioli and wraps it in a white sauce with extra spinach, bacon and msuhrooms ad then tops it with some cheese. delicious for supper on a cold wet night!

i'm really looking forward to having a agarden and being able to grow my own vegetables. realistic eats has used homegrown tomatoes and basil in this farfalle with hot italian sausage, tomato and basil dish which looks wonderful and is full of summer flavours.

marye's baking delights is enjoying using vintage cooking books. this time she was looking for something to use all the okra that she has been growing in her texan garden and this turkish beef and noodles looks like a great choice.

and that's almost it. to finish, let me remind you of the two dishes i cooked for this 79th edition of presto pasta nights. first up is sausage, roasted tomato and broccoli orrechiette. i love the fact that this dish is practically an amalgam of many of the other dishes which showcase each of these ingredients in their own way.

the second dish was a very simple combination of slow roasted tomatoes, basil and aged balsamic vinegar with the wriggly worm noodles that are more formally known as fusilli lunghi bucati. if you batch-roast tomatoes and keep them in the fridge this is a great standby meal.

and on that note i really must end. afterall, we have twenty eight fabulous pasta and noodle dishes! if i've missed anyone, please let me know but in the meantime, enjoy your pasta! and start thinking about what to cook for the next week’s presto pasta nights which is back with its founder ruth from once upon a feast.