Pile on the pasta!  Five flavorful recipes

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.

Crisp the pancetta: Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon (but do not clean the pan) and reserve the pancetta.

Add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat it over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the chickpeas and the greens, season lightly with salt, and cook until the greens have wilted, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the cavatelli in the boiling water until just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta. Add the pasta, pancetta, and 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the chickpeas and greens. Cook, adding additional pasta water if the pasta looks dry, until the pasta is al dente. Add the Parmigiano and toss again. Serve immediately with additional cheese, if you like.

Wash the clams: Put the clams in a large bowl of water and agitate the water with your hands. Let any grit settle to the bottom of the bowl and then lift the clams out of the bowl.

Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook only until about three-quarters done; you should still see some white in the center of the spaghetti when you bite it. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Make the “sauce”: While the spaghetti cooks, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large, high-sided sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and take the pan off of the heat. Swirl the garlic around to prevent it from overcooking and add the red pepper flakes. Add 3/4 cup of pasta water to the pan and bring to boil over medium-high heat for a minute to create an emulsion in the pan. Add the pasta and the clams, cover, and cook until the clams open up and the pasta is cooked al dente, adding additional water only if needed, about 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. With a sharp knife, cut kernels off of the cob(s); you should have 1 cup of kernels. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus. Cut the asparagus into approximately the same size pieces as the corn kernels; you should have 1 cup.

Cook the farfalle until just shy of al dente.  Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook until the onion is just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the corn and asparagus and cook until the asparagus is crisp-tender. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking liquid and cook, tossing, until the pasta is fully cooked and has absorbed some of the flavor of the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and top with grated pecorino Romano.