3 quick and easy cold pasta recipes you can make for lunch

By Andrea Scarpa, group executive chef of Da Paolo

Pictured anti-clockwise from top left

All recipes serve 4

Tagliolini & Spicy Gazpacho with Prawns

INGREDIENTS

For the gazpacho sauce:

700g Roma tomatoes, halved

1 Japanese cucumber, peeled and seeds removed

3 stalks spring onions

2 cloves garlic

1 red capsicum

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, rosemary or sage

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

200g cocktail shrimp

4 tbsp Tabasco sauce

400g tagliolini, cooked until al dente and chilled

4 tsp chopped chives

DIRECTIONS

1 Blend all the ingredients for the gazpacho sauce until smooth. Strain and chill the sauce. It keeps for up to three days.

2 Cook the cocktail shrimp in a pot of boiling water until they turn orange. Cool and marinate in Tabasco sauce for 2 hours.

3 To serve, toss the cooked pasta with the gazpacho sauce and top with the marinated shrimp and chives.

Linguine with Brown Butter, Dill & Scallop Ceviche

INGREDIENTS

100g butter

Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained

100g dill, chopped

400g linguine, cooked until al dente and chilled

4 frozen Hokkaido scallops, thawed and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat until it is golden-brown and caramelised. Remove from heat and separate the caramelised bits from the liquid butter (this is clarified butter that can be used to cook other dishes).

2 Mix the caramelised butter bits with the lemon juice and dill.

3 To serve, mix the cooked pasta with this sauce and top with the scallops.

Tortellini & Fresh Pesto

INGREDIENTS

250g Italian basil

42g parsley

85g bottled grated parmesan

40g pine nuts

300g extra virgin olive oil

400g ricotta spinach tortellini*, cooked until al dente and chilled

DIRECTIONS

1 Place the basil, parsley, parmesan and pine nuts into the blender. Add the olive oil slowly to the mixture and blend until all the oil is incorporated. Transfer to an airtight jar and chill. It keeps for up to 3 days.

2 To serve, mix the tortellini with the pesto and mix well.

*Dried and fresh tortellini with different fillings are available at most major supermarkets. Cook according to packet instructions.

TIP: To season your pasta, add 2 tbsp of salt to the pot of boiling water that you are cooking it in.

This article was originally published in Simply Her September 2014.