Five easy and delicious pasta recipes that take less than 20 minutes to make and are perfect for families

ITALIAN food can bring out the romance during any date night.

But things are now hotting up thanks to Angelo Coassin, aka @cookingwithbello, who is giving Italian dishes a sexy twist with his new book Cook Like A Real Italian.

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If you haven’t seen his cookalong videos, you are in for a treat – trust us!

From primi to secondi courses, and everything in between, there is a feast of classics to enjoy, such as the recipe for his mum’s meatballs, as well as the intriguing TikTok-inspired penne alla vodka.
But it’s not all pizza and pasta.

We are loving Angelo’s desserts and even cocktails to set the mood.

Here, Kirsty Spence brings you some easy recipes from Angelo’s book, which are so much fun to make and even more enjoyable to share. Buon appetito . . . 

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Cheesy lemon scaloppine

• Serves: 4
• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes

I ALWAYS make these super-cheesy lemon scaloppine when I want something delicious for dinner but don’t have a lot of time to cook.

If you want to make them extra sexy, try replacing the lemon juice with Marsala wine.

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YOU NEED:

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• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
• 50g plain flour
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50ml lemon juice
• 50g provolone cheese, sliced (or use mozzarella)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally so you end up with four chicken steaks.
2. Place each steak into a ziplock bag and pound it with a rolling pin until it is about 6mm thick. Gently dust each steak with flour and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. After a couple of minutes, when the pan is hot and the butter is sizzling, add your chicken steaks and cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
4. Reduce heat to low-medium, pour the lemon juice over the chicken and season with salt and pepper, then cook for a further five minutes on each side or until the chicken is cooked through. Always make sure your chicken is fully cooked, and remember cooking time may vary depending on thickness of chicken steaks.
5. Turn off the heat and place the cheese slices on top of your scaloppine. Cover the pan with a lid and let the cheese melt in the residual heat for a couple of minutes until . . . super sexy.
6. Serve with a sprinkle of pepper and lemon slices if you like.

SEXY TIP: Serve your lemon scaloppine topped with some fresh rocket and cherry tomatoes.

Baked ricotta balls

• Serves: 6
• Prep time: 20 minutes
  Cook time: 50 minutes

MY mum made these super-cheesy treats for Sunday lunch when I was a kid. You can use your favourite vegetables for the filling.

Here, I’ve used spinach, but courgettes and squash work fine, too.

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YOU NEED:

• 20g unsalted butter
• 50g breadcrumbs, plus 2 tbsp for the baking dish
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• 800g fresh spinach
• 500g ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 40g parmesan, grated, plus 3 tbsp for topping
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 100g plain, all-purpose flour
• 250g provolone cheese, sliced
• 500ml bechamel sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan.
2. Grease a 20x30 cm (8x12in) baking dish with the butter and then scatter the 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs all over. Then set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet over a low to medium heat.
4. Add the spinach and season with a pinch of salt, then cook for ten minutes until wilted.
5. Allow to cool completely before chopping.
6. Tip the ricotta into a bowl and break it up with a fork.
7. Add the chopped spinach, along with the eggs, the 40g parmesan, and nutmeg.
8. Season with salt and pepper and stir well to combine.
9. Now add the 50g of breadcrumbs and mix again. Shape the mixture into small balls of about 40g each (you should get about 30).
10. Tip the flour into a shallow bowl and dip the ricotta balls into the flour to coat. Place them in the prepared baking dish.
11. Arrange the provolone cheese slices on top, then pour over the bechamel sauce.
12. Scatter the remaining 3 tbsp of parmesan on top then cover with foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, removing the foil for the final ten minutes of cooking time so a nice crust can form on top.
13. Serve and enjoy.

• Get Fabulous Magazine in The Sun tomorrow for Angelo's 3-ingredient dessert recipes

My mum's meatballs

• Serves: 4-6
• Prep time: 15 minutes
  Cook time: 50 minutes

MY mum makes the best meatballs, and I am so pleased to be sharing her recipe.

Serve as a main course with some mashed potatoes, or make them super-small to garnish some pasta.

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YOU NEED:

• 80g white bread, no crusts
• Milk, to cover
• 800g minced beef
• 1 egg
• Small bunch basil, chopped
• 30g grated parmesan
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the tomato sauce:
• Generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 400g tin peeled tomatoes

METHOD:

1. Place the bread in a bowl, then pour over enough milk to cover. Soak for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare your tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a pan over a low-medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic and sizzle for a few minutes then stir in the tomatoes.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Return to the bread. Remove it from the bowl and squeeze to remove excess milk, then add to a large bowl, with the beef, egg, basil and cheese.
6. Season with salt and pepper, then work mixture together with hands.
7. Use your hands to roll it into small balls about the size of a table-tennis ball (this recipe should make about 40 balls).
8. Drop meatballs into sauce and cook over a low–medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Serve warm with mashed potato.

Penne alla vodka

• Serves: 4
• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes

PENNE alla vodka is a classic Italian pasta recipe from the 1980s, and it is super-easy to make.

Traditionally, this sauce is served with penne, but rigatoni and spaghetti will also work perfectly.

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YOU NEED:

• Drizzle extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 50ml vodka
• 300ml tomato passata
• 80ml double cream
• 360g penne pasta
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Small bunch parsley, finely chopped, to serve

METHOD:

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add onion, chilli and bay leaf, and sizzle for a couple of minutes.
2. Then add vodka and let it evaporate (this will take a couple of minutes), then add passata. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the cream and cook for a further five minutes.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over a medium heat.
5. Add pasta and cook for two to three minutes until al dente. Drain, reserving a couple of ladlefuls of the pasta water.
6. Add the pasta to your sauce and toss well over the heat to combine all the flavours, adding a drop of pasta water to loosen if necessary.
   Serve topped with parsley.

SEXY TIP: Add some smoked pancetta and chopped garlic to your sauce for some extra flavour.

Sicilian cod

• Serves: 4
• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 35 minutes

I LEARNED this dish from Carlo, a Sicilian fishmonger who I met on holiday in Palermo a few years ago.

It is easy and quick to make. For extra sexiness, flour the fish before adding it to the pan.

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YOU NEED:

• Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 250g tomato passata
• 100ml water
• 4 skinless cod fillets
• 20g green or black olives, pitted
• Small bunch parsley, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

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1. Heat olive oil in large frying pan over a low-medium heat.
2. Add garlic and cherry tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the potatoes, tomato passata and water.
3. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft.
4. Add cod fillets to pan, scatter olives on top, then cover and cook for a further ten minutes, or until the fish is fully cooked (cooking time may vary depending on size of the fish).
5. Serve topped with parsley.

• Cook Like A Real Italian by Angelo Coassin (£24, Hardie Grant, £24), is out now. Photography: Luke Albert