three perfect pasta recipes, and not one from Italy

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Pasta is so essential to the Italian identity that a whole canon of rules has developed around it: what wheat should be used, how much bite it should have, what sauces go with which shapes. Just try grating cheese on seafood pasta and you will feel the earth shaking with generations of nonnas turning in their graves.

But if you look further south or east on the shores of the Med you may find wheaty strands on your plate in dishes from Greece all the way down to Morocco, taking on local flavours and sensibilities with far fewer rules attached. With all due love and respect to Italy, we sometimes want to try something different — and to remember that pasta is about fun, ease and, most of all, comfort. These three recipes are designed to take you on a tour of the region and open your mind to new pasta possibilities.

Kokoras Krasatos rooster cooked in red wine with Hilopites pasta

To serve three to four

Versions of this heavenly dish are made all around Greece, but the most memorable one we had was in the misty, pine-clad mountains of Arcadia, the real one in the Peloponnese, in a place called Zerzova, which was officially a restaurant but felt more like a home: there were hand-woven dowry rugs, copper pots and Ottoman-era guns on the wall, and a warm, hospitable owner who didn’t mind sharing the recipe. Do not be deceived by the humble look of this dish — the flavours here are deep and gratifying.

1. Heat your oven to 180C (fan assisted).

2. Heat an oven-safe sauté pan (about 22cm in diameter) on a medium heat and add the chicken thighs skin side down (the fat will render out of them, so there is no need to add oil). Season the flesh part with all the salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper (this will be the only seasoning to the dish, so don’t use less than a full teaspoon of table salt). Cook for about six minutes without moving until the skin browns. Check the skin by flipping the chicken. If the skin isn’t crispy yet, cook for another few minutes.

3. Once the skins have coloured, flip all the chicken and cook for five minutes, then remove to a plate on the side.

4. Add the thyme, shallots and celery to the fat that has formed in the pan. Be aware the thyme will fizzle a bit, but that will enhance its flavour. Sauté for five minutes, add the tomatoes and sauté for another two minutes. Next add the tomato paste and cook while mixing for another minute.

5. Add the red wine, and return the chicken, skin side up to the pan. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes at a steady boil, then add the boiling water, and again boil for five minutes. Add the pasta all around the chicken thighs and transfer the whole pot to the oven to cook for 30 minutes.

6. The pasta should have drunk all the water and crisped up in places, but when you break into it the inside will be soft and moist and comforting.

Rishta bil Adas lentil and pasta soup

To serve four to six

This is the great unifier in Lebanon and Syria. Muslims break the fast with it during Ramadan, Christians eat it during Lent, Jews during the Sabbath and on Yom Kippur, and when it’s not a high holiday, you eat rishta anyway! It is cheap, quick and easy to make, nourishing physically and emotionally, and weak-at-the-knees delicious. This soup is so intensely savoury, it demands something fresh on top — chopped coriander, a healthy squeeze of lemon and some heat — make the quick chilli oil suggested below, or use your favourite chilli sauce. The crispy onions are very traditional but there is no way we are bothering with the faff of frying them at home — the shop-bought version is more than good enough.

For the soup

For the toppings (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil on a medium-low heat, add the onions and one of the teaspoons of salt, and sauté slowly, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and are just starting to stick to the bottom of the pan. It should take about 12-15 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and cinnamon stick, and continue cooking for another two minutes. Add the coriander and cumin, and cook for another two minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the lentils and the water. Increase the heat to bring to a boil, then lower the heat again and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add the pasta and the second teaspoon of salt and cook for the last six minutes before the soup is ready to serve. If you are using a different pasta, cook it until it is soft.

5. For the toppings, if using, heat the oil, add the chilli and cook for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat. Top each bowl of soup with any or all of the toppings; a little chilli and its oil, chopped coriander, crispy shallots. Serve lemon wedges on the side.

Ashkenazi Kugel with dates and cinnamon

Makes an 18cm-round kugel To serve six to eight

Think bread and butter pudding but with pasta instead of bread and so more textured, more layered and much crispier on top. This is hardcore comfort and has the power to turn a winter night from grim to cosy. We like it best fresh from the oven, crisp on top and a bit wobbly within, but as leftovers go, a cold slice for breakfast is up there, not unlike cold lasagne. This is easily adaptable to your taste and what you have at home — cinnamon and prunes can replace the vanilla and dates, or orange blossom water, orange zest and soaked raisins will work a treat, but for us, the fudgy dates and the childish innocence of vanilla make for the gold standard.

For the base

For the toppings

1. Heat your oven to 170C (fan assisted).

2. Boil the pasta in salted water for six minutes, then strain and rinse in cold water to stop it overcooking.

3. Mix the cooked pasta with the rest of the ingredients for the base and transfer to a lined baking tin or oven-safe pan (not a loose bottom pan). Place a piece of baking paper on the top and press it down with an oven-safe plate or metal lid, and bake for 30 minutes.

4. Carefully remove from the oven. Remove the pressing plate and top paper, sprinkle the sugar and the butter over the top.

5. Increase the oven temperature to 180C, and bake for the last 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

6. You can serve the kugel hot or at room temperature, both work and are delicious. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

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