We might file certain dishes away into different seasons, but with a bit of creativity most of what we cook can become year-round staples, from winter salads to summer stews. Of course, we’re led to some degree by the time of year, with hearty root veg swapped for salads when the weather warms up, but, by and large, simple tweaks can take a recipe from month to month. There are few better examples of that than pasta, which stays on our menus in its various guises all year round; in winter, we might lean towards comforting, baked dishes served with crusty bread, compared to the lighter seafood and citrus flavours of summer, perhaps paired with a fresh salad.

Here, we’ve asked some of London’s best chefs about the trends they're seeing in the world of pasta. Though Italian cooking, is rooted in tradition, how it's eaten here still evolves, reflecting wider food trends and changing popularity. Take cacio e pepe – though it's now a staple on pasta restaurant menus, a few years ago it was much lesser-known. ‘When we put it on the menu at Trullo eight to nine years ago, almost every customer asked us what it was,’ says Conor Gadd, chef-owner at London's Trullo. ‘Now there is uproar if we don’t have it on, and rarely do you find pasta restaurants these days without their own version of it.’ Without further ado, here are just a handful of the ways we can elevate our pasta this summer. 

Tomatoes and pasta are a match made in heaven, so, with the season in full swing, it's no surprise that chefs are giving them a starring role. At Popham's, executive chef and baker Phil King is using the Isle of Wight's fantastic tomatoes (widely seen as some of the best in the UK, thanks to the area's sunny climate) in spoja lorda, a dish from Emilia-Romagna in which small squares of pasta are filled with mixed types of ricotta, eggs, Parmesan and salt. In his recipe, they are filled with a rich tomato sauce, and served in a tomato water with a tomato olive oil. ‘We make a shift in summer – in autumn and winter dishes we tend to use butter in the sauces, but in summer we go for more olive oil and vinegar-based ones,’ Phil says. ‘We’ve put on the Isle of Wight tomato and they’ve been popping up around London restaurants for the simple reason that they are excellent British tomatoes – we wait all year for them and don't use fresh tomatoes until we are able to source British ones.’

Over at Bancone, group executive chef Ben Waugh agrees that tomatoes are the star of the summer – they've put on a tomato tagliatelle with smoked stacciatella on the menu, and it's fast becoming one of their most popular dishes. ‘This time of year you see a lot more tomato-based dishes,’ Ben says, 'whether it's an accompaniment with an antipasti or as the base of the sauce – Isle of Wight tomatoes are always a popular choice.’

From anchovies to sardines and tuna to octopus, tinned fish is having something of a moment – sales have soared in the UK over the last few years, boosted by a sustainability-first mindset and social media (and in particular a trend of using them on charcuterie boards). That appetite has found its way to pasta, and for good reason – anchovies add depth and umami whether they're simmered in a sauce or simply tossed with bucatini. Tinned fish's health benefits – they're a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids – and ease of use means they have become a way of transforming a simple dish into something far more indulgent.

‘The use of tinned fish in food, but especially in pasta, is becoming more popular,’ Conor agrees. ‘It is very big in New York and is also growing in London. Five to ten years ago you would rarely have seen salted anchovies in fresh pasta, but now I go to my local restaurant in Walthamstow and find salted anchovies on with bucatini on the menu.’ If you're keen to give it a go, why not use Ben Tish's summery spaghetti with lemon, anchovy, sage and pangrattato, or Robert Thompson's simple charred mackerel linguine, as inspiration.

What's something that will send pasta dishes flying out the door? Shellfish, according to Matt Beardmore, executive chef at Legare. 'In terms of what’s most popular, it’s anything with shellfish,’ he nods. ‘It’s super popular. Anything like lobster, crab, clams – we have a vongole on and that’s really popular. When crab ravioli is on we don’t sell anything else. We occasionally do a special pasta where we get a whole lobster and break it down in linguine as a sharer – it flies out, it’s really indulgent.’ There's no denying that shellfish adds a luxury to a dish that's otherwise hard to recreate – try Matt's lobster linguine with genovese basil or our spaghetti alle vongole, a perfect dinner for a warm summer evening.

We might have a trusted roster of pasta shapes, but our hunger for regional, authentic cooking has seen a flurry of lesser-known varieties become more mainstream. At Legare, Matt says they've been using orechiette, which has its roots in Apulia in southern Italy. ‘Orecchiette is super labour intensive,’ Matt says, ‘and we make it all by hand. It takes an hour to do about eight portions. It’s all hands-on, but it’s very, very popular. We do it with a fennel sausage and spring greens.’ If you're keen to test your skills and give it a go at home, don't miss our guide to making orecchiette here.

And when it comes to filled pastas, why not swap more familiar shapes like ravioli and tortellini for cappelletti or agnolotti (which is often actually easier to make at home). From simple ricotta to crab, mushroom and slow-cooked meats, the potential for experimenting with fillings and sauces is endless. ‘Filled pasta is always littering my social feeds,' Ben agrees. 'People seem to be more adventurous with shapes. Some I’ve never heard of before.'

Whether you're using shellfish to create a decadent dinner party showstopper or rolling up your sleeves to make new pasta shapes at home, there are no end of ways to reinvigorate your menus this summer.