Yes, we know that Tim Noakes guy spoiled all the fun and banned carbo-loading in favour of high protein diets. But we’ll let you in on a little secret: we’re not really even riding The Argus. Here are ten really delicious pasta recipes to enjoy before (during and/or after) the race. Just because we can.

Creamy salmon and rocket pasta
Smoked salmon cream cheese takes all the fuss and expense out of the equation. But if you’re feeling especially decadent, stir in a handful of sliced smoked salmon strips (about 100g) at the end of cooking.

Pasta puttanesca
Want to make pasta like a MasterChef? Here’s Andrew and Benny’s masterclass on homemade tagliatelle and puttanesca, the perfect go-to sauce, fresh from the MasterChef SA cookbook.

Primavera pasta with lemon dressing
This beautiful veggie pasta is healthy, tasty and meat-free.

Spinach and duck pasta
Fresh spinach, parmesan and rich duck sausages: this pasta recipe is simple and scrumptious.

Tricky Ricky’s meat-a-balls
Riccardo’s traditional ‘meat-a-ball’ recipe secured a place in our top five family recipes in the country. Janice Tripepi says, “This is such a simple Italian favourite; it’s inexpensive but each little meatball is made with love.”

Jamie Oliver’s chorizo carbonara
This chilli, chorizo and rosemary combination works beautifully with a zesty salad and takes only 15 minutes to prepare. It comes to us from Jamie Oliver’s latest release, Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals.

Antonio Carluccio’s chicken liver pasta
This rich pasta dish hails from Piedmont in Italy, where it’s known as ‘tajarin con fegatini’. “Tajarin is the Piedmontese dialect name for tagliolini or tagliarini (thin ribbons of pasta),” explains Antonio. Not to worry, though: it’s delicious in any language.

Summery spaghetti bolognaise
This local take on the Italian classic comes to us courtesy of Alida Ryder of Simply Delicious, who adds fragrant spices, rocket and spinach to the recipe she makes for her family.

Wild mushroom lasagne
Meat-free Monday has never looked this good. Fresh from the Luscious Vegetarian cookbook, this lasagne recipe is comforting and luxurious. “Use any mushrooms you can find, including rehydrated dried ones,” say authors Sonia Cabano and Jade De Waal.

Lamb fettuccine
Graham Neilson from 9th Avenue Bistro in Durban serves his lamb with mint fettuccine, which he makes by adding purée of mint and spinach to his pasta dough. If you have a pasta roller or machine, it’s a good option, otherwise plain fresh fettuccine will do.

Too lazy to cook for yourself? Check out our guide to the best Italian restaurants in SA.