Pasta has me hooked like nothing else. My love affair with pasta was cemented in the making of stuffed agnolotti, caramelle and everything in between in restaurant kitchens, but it started with something simpler: my mum’s lasagne and her 10-minute weeknight dinners. When there is pasta in the house, there is a meal to be had. This lasagne is the quickest I’ve made, ready for the oven in 10 minutes (not the hour it normally takes), yet there is still a rich deep tomato sauce and those crisp, baked edges to fight over. And these four ways with supermarket filled pasta transform that shopping-trolley favourite, ready-made these lacklustre little parcels into a meal to be proud of.

Cheat’s lasagne (pictured above)

This speedy lasagne is inspired by one of my favourite cooks, Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com. I have made a vegan version for my brother using a vegan cashew cheese.

Prep 15 min

Cook 40 min

Serves 6

400g tomato passata

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 good pinch dried chilli

1 x 400g tin puy lentils

50g black olives, stoned and chopped

2 tbsp capers

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large handful basil leaves

250g dried lasagne sheets

2 x 125g balls mozzarella

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas 6.

In a large bowl or jug, mix the passata with the oil, half a teaspoon of salt, garlic, chilli, lentils, olives, capers and lemon zest. Tear in half the basil leaves.

Spoon a quarter of the sauce into an ovenproof dish roughly 20cm x 30cm, tear over a third of one of the balls of mozzarella, then cover with pasta sheets. Repeat for another two layers.

Finish with a final layer of sauce, then tear over the second ball of mozzarella, sprinkle with salt and pepper and the remaining basil, and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the mozzarella is deeply golden. Serve with a sharply dressed salad (I mix it with lemon, cider vinegar, mustard and extra-virgin olive oil, and toss through a bowl of green leaves).

Four fixes for supermarket pasta

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dressed-up dinner: Anna Jones’s tortellini with the red onion and hazelnut. Photograph: Matt Russell for the Guardian

We’ve all bought a packet of ready-made tortellini for a quick dinner and finished it disappointed. Here are four ways to improve it. All the quantities below make enough to top a 250g pack of filled pasta. I’d advise picking subtly flavoured pasta, such as ricotta and spinach, as it will carry the flavours better. I also use a vegetarian parmesan and pecorino.

Prep 5-10 min

Cook 10-15 min

Serves 2

Red onion and hazelnut (pictured above)

Slowly cook a sliced red onion with a pinch of salt until sweet, add two handfuls of shredded greens or chard and the juice of half a lemon and wilt. Next add the cooked pasta straight from the pan, and finish with some toasted hazelnuts and a grating of parmesan.

Pumpkin seed and basil

Pulse a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, most of a bunch of basil, the zest of one lemon and the juice of half in a blender. Add olive oil until you have a loose pesto. Toss in the cooked pasta and top with more toasted pumpkin seeds, the rest of the basil and a few handfuls of rocket. Finish with a little pecorino.

Spiced tomato and feta

Saute a bunch of sliced spring onions and a chopped garlic clove until soft, add a pinch of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of ground coriander and a pinch of dried chilli. Pour in a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, and cook for 10 minutes. Toss the cooked pasta in the sauce and finish with olive oil and crumbled feta.

Spring veg and soft herbs

Fry a leek in a little butter or oil, add two handfuls of podded peas or broad beans and some chopped soft herbs (dill, basil or mint), toss with the cooked pasta and top with toasted almonds, lemon zest and a little more oil.