Federico Fellini (Famous Italian film director) once said, 'LIFE
IS A COMBINATION OF MAGIC AND PASTA'. I couldn't agree
more.
PIZZA & PASTA= ITALY isn't it?
These two dishes scream ITALY. Italians are known
for their gesticulating actions while talking. One of my favorites has
to be Mamma Mia! This means, my mother, this term is
used to express everything from anger to wonder. And I mostly love to use this term when I eat PASTA!!
Besides pizza begin my first
love, Pasta hits the second spot right after. Pasta is a simple dish and also versatile at the same time. Put it in a soup, bake it, add to a nice salad or just add some ready made sauces to it and in no time you have a yummy pasta dish. Nothing is more comforting than a
plate full of my favorite pasta on a lazy Sunday accompanied with a glass of my favorite wine.. This is what I call MAMA MIA!
Italian cuisine is incomplete without
some cheese and wine. However, in my recipe I prefer to keep away from wine
because I like to make it more available for others sharing the dinning table with me and to make up
for wine in food I add more cheese instead..yummy... I love to cook in my spare time and my passion for cooking comes from my Mom after all Indians love our
Mommies, that's one more thing we have in common with Italians beside our passion
for food.
I was feeling ''ITALIAN'' the
other day after watching way too much of NIGELLISSIMA. Gosh! I need to stop..I
told Mama that Papa and I will be taking over the Kitchen for the afternoon. I
know that there are so many variants of pastas, but I always used penne and
spaghetti whenever I made pasta at home as most common and easy to find. This was the first time I used DEL
MONTE Spirali pasta. I made it just the same way I make my other
pasta which I learnt from my Mom, but mine always turns out very different than hers (HEY! In a good way, OK!). I love to cook my pasta than buying it off a restaurant because it's the
simplest pasta recipe to make. Italian cuisine is also known for its simplistic
character, 5-6 ingredients and a dash of love is all it take for the
dish to get ready.
Enough of Rambling, It's now time for some yummeh Pasta!! Oh yea!
Rules to make *MY Pasta
1) There are no rules!
Please, do not follow my recipe..
This is just the way I make it. This is just the way I love it. This is just
the way it comforts my soul. So be creative and inventive and try a combination
of your own after reading and watching my simple recipe.
I call my recipe "The *MY pasta recipe" (Yes, you said your pasta recipe) it is
very important to make your food the way you want it, it's your pasta when you are making it, so be experimental. You do not need fancy
veggies or herbs, use what is available at home and most importantly have fun..
Ingredients used for My Pasta.
-DEL MONTE SPIRALI
PASTA- 250 grams (you can choose any pasta you like, they have a wide variety
to choose from)
-DEL MONTE TOMATO SAUCE- 2 tbsp
-WATER- 2 ltrs
-WATER- 2 ltrs
-BELL PEPPERS- 1 GREEN, 1 RED, 1
YELLOW- 200 grams
-MUSHROOMS- 50 grams
-PAPRIKA- to your liking (After all we Indians love our food HOT and SPICY)
-DRIED OREGANO/ DRIED MIXED HERBS- to your liking
-CHEESE
-MILK- 1 cup
-GARLIC- 5-6 cloves
-OLIVE OIL - 2 tbsp
-CORN FLOUR- 3 tsp
-MILK
-BLACK PEPPER- to your liking
-SALT TO TASTE
-BLACK PEPPER- to your liking
-SALT TO TASTE
OPTIONAL: BOILED CHICKEN(or any meat of your choice) - 150 grams *save the
stock*
Prep Time: 15 Minutes.
Cooking Time: 15-20 Minutes.
*Recipe Serves 2
(approx 220grams per serving)
-Nothing
better than the taste of love! shhh...THANK ME LATER! ;)
The
cooking method is very simple, to make it easier I have added step by step animation GIF images.
*I
have made a video too which is fairly simple to follow. Scroll to the bottom to
watch the video instead*
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| 1) Wash all the vegetables well and then julienne the beautifully colored bell peppers. |
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| 2) Cut mushrooms the way you like them to be. |
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| 3) Ground Black pepper and crush garlic. |
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| 4) Shred the boiled chicken. HOW I BOILED MY CHICKEN: I marinated the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, seasoning and left aside for about an hour and then boiled it until it cooked. I also saved the stock for later. |
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| 5) On medium flame heat olive oil, then add the garlic, paprika, mushrooms and bell peppers. Mix well. I have used the same non stick vessel I used to boiled the chicken as I did not want to waste the flavors present in it. |
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| 6) Add a little less than half of the DEL MONTE spirali pasta to boiling water and seal the rest with the re-closable seal it comes with. |
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| 7) Check your pasta after 5-6 minutes and put off the gas after you think it is almost cooked. Great thing about this pasta is that it did not stick to each other. |
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| 8) Add the chicken stock and milk to the partially cooked veggies. Turn the fire to low heat. |
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| 9) Add oregano and slurry made of cornflour and water to the sauce to make it a little thick. *make sure you are continually stirring the sauce while pouring the paste to avoid lumps. |
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| 10) Add cheese (don't feel shy with the quantity you add in) and then add the chicken and mix well. This tastes equally great without meat too. |
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| 11) Taste the sauce and season it with pepper and salt to your liking, add Del Monte tomato ketchup for that subtle tangy flavor and finally add the pasta and mix well. And we are done!! |
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| 12) Final step, EAT!! BUT.... OPTIONAL: If you feel fancy then plate it in fancy cutlery and garnish it with more cheese=more love, fresh herbs like basil, flat leaf parsley and ready made sauces of your choice. *I have plated my pasta with fresh herbs, homemade chilly sauce and homemade herb seasoned mayo. |
MY TIPS
TO REMEMBER WHILE MAKING PASTA
- LET THE FOOD COOK ITSELF- As
you know we have chicken and other veggies do not stir/mix it too much
let it infuse flavors on its own, we do not want to melt down the textures.
-PUT OFF THE STOVE- The trick
with pasta is that you do not want to over or under cook it. When you
know the pasta is almost done (let's say 90-95%) put off the stove and let
it cook in its heat. OR if you happen to cook it fully just run it under a cold water tap this will stop the pasta to cook further in its heat.
WE LOVED
HOW IT TURNED OUT!
Mama was very proud of Papa and me! Del Monte tomato ketchup added a super quick tangy flavor which went very well with the
cheese. The best part was that the flavors were locked within the
spirals of the pasta which is why my pasta was not as saucy as always, but
it did work perfectly well for me, with every bite there was a burst of flavor. It tastes fantastic with a glass of white wine. Del Monte Pasta is definitely going to be my re-purchase
for next months' grocery stock.
MOST
IMPORTANT
*BE
CREATIVE, THINK LIKE A CHEF & ALWAYS REMEMBER LOVE MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER*
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| http://www.delmonte.com/ |
To know more about Del Monte like their Facebook Page.
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| image source |
More about DEL MONTE Authentic Italian Gourmet Pasta
Each packet is a family size pack and usually retails starting from Rs 225/- for
500 grams. The pack comes with a Re-closable seal for easy storage
after opening. Also 100% vegetarian. Their Pastas come in many shapes and I cannot wait to try them all. Some of which are as follows.
- Spaghetti
- Spirali
- Spirali TriColour
- Chifferi Rigati
- Penne Rigate
- Penne Wholewheat
- Farfalle
- Tagliatelle
- Conchiglie
- Pennoni Rigate
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| image source |
Also Del Monte made Italian home cooking even more easy peasy!
Their Italian range also has Pizza Pasta Sauce, which are tasty and ready to use sauces that helps you make perfect pizzas and pastas at home. There is quite a variety in their range of sauces. Yuuummmm..
- Pizza & Pasta Sauce
- Arrabbiata Pasta Sauce
- Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
*Do Not Be Surprised If You See A Handsome Italian Man*
#ItalianEscapades
