For the Light and Tasty column today, I present to you a nice dish of creamy cheese tagliatelle, cooked by none other than… my daughter. 😀
Here’s the photo Flavia sent me. 😊 Not bad for a quick lunch during her university break, right? 💛
Today’s topic for the Light and Tasty Monday column is a new one, a bit different from usual. We’ve titled it “Lunch Break Alone”. Or to put it more conversationally: “Today I am home alone, so I cook what I want, just for me!”.
I rarely eat alone, and the last two times it happened I ended up having ice cream for lunch the first time, and working without a break or lunch the second (😂). So for several days I had been wracking my brain about what to cook in a single portion just for me, which I could then propose here today when Flavia, well, read my mind. I heard a ding from my phone and guess what? It was her sending me photos of her lunch based on tagliatelle with cheese fondue (even in a light version without salt!). As they used to say? Oh yes, telepathy take me away!!! 😁
She had cooked creamy tagliatelle just for herself, which she was so enthusiastic about that she made them again the next day and insisted I try them too. Which I did immediately, with an accompanying phone exchange of messages and photos and questions and explanations… in short, a wonderful cultural exchange at a distance.
And so the recipe became the perfect recipe for Light and Tasty, because it was Flavia’s lunch – that day home alone – during the break between morning classes and her afternoon work shift: a perfect example for today’s theme!
I am very proud of how Flavia has learned to organize herself in this challenging life as a student-worker, finding the time (and let’s admit it, the desire!) to cook really tasty things like these creamy tagliatelle, which are even prepared in less time than the famous student’s tuna pasta or a stuffed sandwich. What more could you want? 🤩
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Flavia’s recipes here on the blog are almost all recipes from when she was younger and (obviously!) had little cooking experience. But now I foresee that the Flavia’s Recipes category will be updated a bit more frequently, and with quite nice little recipes.
If you’d like to browse through her recipes from a few years ago… here are some: the carrot cream she made at 11 years old, the quiche she wanted to cook on her own (kicking me out of the kitchen!), the ‘famous’ rainbow cookies, and the latest recipe in chronological order, the fruit cake: 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 1
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients for 1 serving
- 2.3 oz tagliatelle (one nest)
- 3 tablespoons milk kefir (about 3 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese (around 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 light cheese slice (or 0.7 oz of stracchino)
- 1 teaspoon butter (about 1 teaspoon)
- hot paprika
- pepper
Tools
- Pan
- Grater
Steps
First, boil the water for the tagliatelle.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce in a non-stick pan.
Melt a teaspoon of butter over low heat with kefir, cream cheese, and a cheese slice or 0.7 oz of stracchino or another cheese.
👉 Those who don’t have kefir can, as I always suggest, replace it with plain yogurt.
👉 The cheese slice (light) is part of Flavia’s original recipe (a perfect ingredient for a student recipe!). When I replicated the recipe, I used – after getting her approval 🤪 – stracchino (0.7 oz, weight equivalent to the cheese slice).
Mix. When everything is melted well, add the grated Parmesan.
Mix to dissolve the Parmesan well.
Add a sprinkle of paprika and a sprinkle of pepper.
When the tagliatelle are cooked, drain them, reserving 2-3 tablespoons of cooking water, useful to better mix the sauce.
Toss quickly.
Serve the creamy tagliatelle immediately, while the fondue is still soft.
And this is my version, made with stracchino instead of the light cheese slice. 😊
If desired, you can add an additional sprinkle of paprika (or pepper, or both) directly on the plates.
Enjoy your meal!
Salt-Free Tips
Until some time ago, making a dish with only cheese low-sodium was not easy, because finding low-sodium cheeses on the market was practically impossible.
🔹 Recently, however, things have started to change: low-sodium mozzarella and stracchino now exist (with 30% less salt content), I first mentioned them in the recipe for baked spelt gnocchi, remember? They are Granarolo products, therefore accessible to everyone because they are also available in supermarkets.
🔸 But a great ‘trick,’ which I always suggest to you, is to make your own cheese. Of course, we’re talking about fresh cheese or ricotta or spreadable cheese, not matured cheeses, but they still allow us to always have a supply of completely salt-free cheese in the fridge, and to cook many cheese-based recipes drastically reducing the amount of salt present in the dish. Like in today’s creamy tagliatelle, where one can limit the use of purchased cheeses (thus containing salt) to just Parmesan. 😉
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
■ Gradually decrease salt, the palate must adjust slowly and not notice the progressive reduction.
■ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
■ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
■ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
■ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
■ Use my salt-free vegetable granule and gomasio
■ Prefer fresh foods.
■ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that don’t disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
■ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
■ Occasionally allow yourself a small indulgence. It is good for the mood and helps perseverance.
If you don’t want, or can’t, give up salt:
■ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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On my WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page, on Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s Group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you want… subscribe to the Newsletter
Light and Tasty:
And my colleagues from the Light and Tasty Team, I wonder what they ate that time they had to have lunch alone! 😀 I’m curious to find out!
Carla Emilia: Carpaccio with Fennel and Anchovy Sauce
Cinzia: Savoy Cabbage Rolls with Meat
Daniela: Sandwich with Omelette, Arugula, and Raspadura
Elena: Spinach, Pear, and Walnut Salad
Milena: Bruschetta with Lemon Ricotta and Spicy Catalogna
