Orange Pasta

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4.80 from 5 votes

This unique pasta recipe is tangy yet creamy and easy to make. A very pleasing dish from my childhood!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 544kcal

Author: Bill

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

Orange Pasta by The Woks of Life. Recipe URL: https://body-goals.fit/orange-pasta/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-28233":{"type":"food","name":"Orange Pasta","slug":"wprm-orange-pasta","image_url":"https:\/\/thewoksoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/orange-pasta-13.jpg","rating":{"count":5,"total":24,"average":4.8,"type":{"comment":5,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"amount":"8","unit":"oz.","name":"rigatoni","notes":"(225g, or any other short cut pasta)","id":2327,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"8","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":0,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","name":"olive oil","notes":"","id":302,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":1,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"amount":"4","unit":"oz.","name":"pancetta or bacon","notes":"(115g; optional, the dish is otherwise vegetarian if you leave this out)","id":2324,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"4","unit":"oz.","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":2,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"4","unit":"oz.","unitParsed":"oz."}}},{"amount":"1","unit":"","name":"medium onion","notes":"(thinly sliced)","id":507,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":3,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"amount":"3","unit":"cloves","name":"garlic","notes":"(thinly sliced)","id":269,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3","unit":"cloves","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":4,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3","unit":"cloves","unitParsed":"cloves"}}},{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"orange juice","notes":"","id":1560,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":5,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"tomato paste","notes":"","id":1122,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":6,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"","unit":"","name":"salt and pepper","notes":"(to taste)","id":433,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":7,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"half-and-half or heavy cream","notes":"(80 ml)","id":2325,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":8,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","name":"grated Parmesan cheese","notes":"(25g)","id":393,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":9,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"amount":"","unit":"","name":"zest of 1\/2 an orange","notes":"","id":2326,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":10,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","name":"basil","notes":"(julienned)","id":2093,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","timestamp":1774165424000},"type":"ingredient","uid":11,"unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bd","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}