This orange pasta is a delicious change-up from the typical pasta dishes you’re used to seeing at the dinner table. It also happens to be very easy to make and a great choice for a mid-week meal with a nice salad.
After I mentioned my idea for this dish and finally brought it to the table, my daughters gave me a weird look and asked, “Where did you get that idea?!” Which led to another one of my childhood “sandlot” stories.
While growing up in the Catskills, my friend David and I each had our own paper routes. Typically on weekends, we would make our deliveries a little bit later, and when finished, we’d converge at one of our houses. One particular Sunday, I arrived at his house, where he and his mother were eating bowls of rigatoni in the kitchen. I was given a bowl of it, and man, was it tasty!
It could have been because I was ravenous from delivering over 100 newspapers on probably the most spread-out paper route in the county, but I think it was because that orange pasta sauce was just darn good. It had a really surprising, bright orange flavor, and I’ve been looking to recreate it ever since. So that memory, I said to my daughters, was the catalyst for this orange pasta sauce recipe. I can’t answer why it took me so many years to take action in the kitchen, but better late than never!
Note: As you’ll see, we didn’t use the pancetta/bacon when we cooked this recipe for photos. But we’ve had it in the recipe before, and it’s definitely a great addition!
Orange Pasta: Recipe Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. While that’s happening, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and pancetta/bacon (if using). Allow the pancetta to crisp up, and then add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until caramelized.
Stir in the orange juice and tomato paste, and bring to a simmer.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add the half and half. Scoop in your cooked pasta (reserve the cooking liquid), and parmesan cheese.
Give everything a good stir. Add in a little more of the starchy pasta water if the sauce needs thinning out. Stir in the orange zest and basil.
Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed and you have this caramelized, glistening, tangy, orange pasta sauce with rigatoni ready to eat.
Serve hot and the kids will love it!
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Recipe
Orange Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. rigatoni (225g, or any other short cut pasta)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 oz. pancetta or bacon (115g; optional, the dish is otherwise vegetarian if you leave this out)
- 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup tomato paste
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1/3 cup half-and-half or heavy cream (80 ml)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (25g)
- zest of 1/2 an orange
- ½ cup basil (julienned)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. While that’s happening, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and pancetta/bacon (if using). Allow the pancetta to crisp up, and then add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until caramelized.
- Stir in the orange juice and tomato paste, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add the half and half. Scoop in your cooked pasta (reserve the cooking liquid), and parmesan cheese. Give everything a good stir. Add in a little more of the starchy pasta water if the sauce needs thinning out.
- Stir in the orange zest and basil. Give the pasta a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve!
Nutrition Facts
