This pasta recipe is a perfect dish to serve in December with its red and green color theme, don’t you agree? It’s also a lighter meal, which is most likely a welcome sight after so many hearty and heavy dishes this time of year.

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CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Disclosure: Lagostina provided me with a pastaiola set and 12″ copper martellata skillet in exchange for recipe development. Another pasta pot and skillet was given away to two of my readers. All opinions are always my own.

Do you know the feeling when use something that is just so well made and the quality is so much better than what you’re used to?

Important information regarding Lagostina

EDITED Feb. 5, 2017: I recently discovered that only this particular pastaiola set is made in Italy; the copper skillet, and the rest of the Martellata line, are made in China. :(  I am so disappointed to learn this information because it appears to me (and others who have left reviews on Amazon), that the content on Lagostina’s website which leads potential customers to think that all Lagostina products are made in Italy seems to be purposeful.

First of all, I am totally shocked and dismayed to discover that I’ve been promoting products that are made in China. (Incidentally, I always say that I do not use products in my kitchen if they’re made in China)! When I asked Lagostina representatives about this, I was told the boxes state “made in China”. However, when we are purchasing products online, there is no box where we can see this. I feel this is extremely unfair.

The reason I discovered the Martellata line and most Lagostina products are made in China, is because my mother purchased a set for my Christmas gift. When opening it, I happened to notice, “Made in China” on the bottom of the box! I am not happy with Lagostina, as you can imagine. I wrote to them HERE.

When I went to visit my parents in September, I brought my mother this same pot and she has since fallen in love with it. The other day, she told me that it’s perfect for ravioli. This is because the built in colander allows the ravioli to be drained without having to be moved from the pot. No more having burst ravioli.

I countered with, “It’s also perfect for gnocchi!” for the same reason: no dumping from the pot into the colander making the gnocchi become mushy.

While the pasta is cooking, put the olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat, along with the garlic and parsley.

Turn the heat up, and add the tomatoes, cooking for just a few minutes to blister them, but not to cook them into a sauce.

Next, drain the pasta, reserving the water in the pot.

Add the pasta to the tomatoes in the skillet, with some chopped parsley, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pasta water and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss to combine all the ingredients.

Lastly, add the chopped avocado very gently, as we want to keep the avocado from getting creamed into the pasta.

Serve immediately and top with more chopped parsley and grated cheese if desired.

Finally, although this is a great dish to serve during Christmastime, why not serve it year round? You can’t beat a fresh, healthy and delicious meal that comes together in under 15 minutes, right? Buon appetito!

The Lagostina Made in Italy pastaiola set is available at Amazon (affiliate link). I do love this pot, which IS Made in Italy, but am not happy with Lagostina’s business practices of unclear advertising.

Final note

Click here to learn more about Lagostina USA, and you will see what I mean about the lack of clarity about where the products are made. Utimately, we are led to believe they are all made in Italy, when this is far from the truth. Consequently, I am no longer promoting Lagostina.

PLEASE NOTE: only a select few pieces are made in Italy! Most of their products are made in China.

Yield: 4 servings

Egg Pasta with Avocado and Cherry Tomatoes

Print

A light and colorful, nutritious pasta dish that's perfect for Christmas.

Ingredients

• 8 oz of egg pasta (or pappardelle)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more)
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• chopped parsley, as desired
• 1 to 2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 large or two small, ripe avocados, cut into cubes
• salt and pepper
• parsley to garnish

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil in the pastaiola, add salt and then cook the pasta as directed on the package.
2. While the pasta is cooking, put the olive oil in the skillet over medium high heat, along with the garlic and parsley.
3. Turn the heat up, and add the tomatoes, cooking for just a few minutes to blister them, but not to cook them into a sauce.
4. Drain the pasta, reserving the water in the pot.
5. Add the pasta to the tomatoes in the skillet, with some chopped parsley, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of pasta water and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Toss to combine all the ingredients.
6. Lastly, add the chopped avocado very gently, as we want to keep the avocado from getting creamed into the pasta.
7. Serve immediately and top with more chopped parsley and grated cheese if desired. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 bowl
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 627 Total Fat: 25g Carbohydrates: 20g Protein: 3g

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