Linguine / Pasta with roasted peppers

There are so many different types of pasta available in the Indian market over the last couple of years now. When I was little, I think the first ever pasta I had was this alphabet shaped macaroni like pasta. It was such a hit with us kids and Ma would always put that in our soup. Macaroni is another very popular pasta with kids. Then I slowly got introduced to penne (cylinder shaped), fusilli (corkscrew shaped), spaghetti (long thin pasta), tagiatelle (long thin ribbon like pasta), farfalle (bow-tie shaped), canneloni (tubes, usually stuffed with filling) and more recently orzo (shaped like rice grains) and linguine. Linguine is almost like spaghetti but slightly more flat.



My son is a great fan of the movie Ratatouille and inspired by that, he has decided to open a restaurant when he's older, where I will cook, TH will settle bills and he will go on roller skates serving people !
When I told him what he was eating was Linguine, he looked a little shocked because the boy in the movie was called Linguine. For him pasta until now was either macaroni or noodle pasta(spaghetti). All other shapes are just called pasta.

There are many brands selling pasta in India right now and I keep trying different ones, but this linguine from Waitrose is really really good. The pasta cooks up beautifully and almost melts in your mouth as you eat, not because its overcooked, but because it is just so soft and perfect.

The roasted peppers give this a lovely flavour. For the basic sauce, I used this recipe here.

Linguine with roasted peppers
Adapted from Italina khana - Pasta by Ritu Dalmia

What you need -

200g linguine (flat and long pasta)
2 yellow bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup tomato basil sauce
2 fresh tomatoes
2 cloves garlic (chopped lengthwise)
a few basil leaves (I ran out of this)
garlic greens (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

What you do with it -

Apply a little olive oil over the peppers and roast them in the oven at about 150 C for 15 mins
Allow it to cool, then peel off the skin and cut into pieces
Deseed and chop the tomatoes
Heat a little olive oil and add the chopped garlic
Add tomatoes and the peppers and allow it to cook for 3-4 mins
Add the pasta sauce and cook for another 5 mins
Adjust the salt and pepper. The pasta sauce already has salt, so see that you don't add too much
Meanwhile cook the pasta in hot boiling water (as per the packet instructions)
Drain the pasta and keep 1-2 tbsps of the water (from the pasta) aside
Add the pasta water to the sauce and allow to cook for 2 mins
Serve pasta and the the sauce over it
Garnish with some chopped garlic greens
Serve hot

Pasta in a spinach almond pesto

I had always assumed that 'pesto' had to be made with pine nuts and basil, both of which were never easily available...
Thanks to a lot of posts on in the food blogging world, I realised that pesto was basically 'nuts and herbs pounded together'
I have tried a lot of different combinations and its made my life so much simpler to use whatever is on hand !



My son loves pasta and I get the organic whole wheat one from Fab india here, which is really good..
Have tried coriander-walnut pesto earlier, settled for a spinach-almond one this time...
Found this whole packet of almonds that was a gift from Diwali and decided this was a good way to get it into my son's diet...

Simple flavours, some veggies, whole wheat pasta and a healthy meal was on it way...

What you need -

2 cups pasta (I used whole wheat fusilli)
2 carrots
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
1 capsicum
(You can use any vegetables, I had these for the day)
1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1 tsp crushed pepper (optional)
salt to taste
3-4 tsps olive oil
5 tsps milk (optional)

For the Pesto

10 almonds
2 cups chopped spinach
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp grated cheese
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp olive oil

What you do with it -

For the pesto
Soak the almonds in hot water for 15-20 mins and peel the skin off
Blend together with all the ingredients listed under pesto
Do not add water, add more olive oil if necessary

Bring water to boil in a large deep bottom pan, add salt and a drop of olive oil
Add pasta and reduce the heat and cook for 8-10 mins, or till done (Follow instructions on the pasta packet)
Drain the water out and spread the pasta, sprinkle a tsp or two of olive oil, so it doesn't stick together
In a pan, heat a tsp of olive oil, add chopped carrots, corn kernels and chopped capsicum
Stir frequently till the veggies are almost cooked and then add the pesto
Add crushed pepper, chilli flakes and salt
If its too dry, add olive oil or milk, depending on the flavour you like
Add the pasta and stir once or twice
Turn off the heat, add shredded cheese if desired
Serve hot !

Spinach bread and Pesto Pasta

Last week, Ahmedabad finally saw some rains...Its almost like a desert here, hot, real hot dry summers and the winters are short, but quite cold.
Monsoon is not an official season here, it cant be, because it lasts for about 2-3 days..Last year, it rained for a day, the entire day, but that was it...complete dry spell after that

The hot weather here is great for baking, only because the yeast comes up beautifully, otherwise, the entire house feels like an oven. Temperatures are around 41 C - 44 C, for at least 4 months in a year and it just doesnt seem to be the right time to bake anything



This particular day, it was sunny, but there was a lovely breeze, I decided to put my yeast to test again, made this spinach and cheese bread. By evening, the winds were really strong and in the apartment I live in, you could hear eerie sounds of the wind go thru the columns...It started pouring and went on for about 3 hours

Made this pesto pasta to go with the bread, sat out in our balcony and enjoyed the lovely weather, while muching on the bread and pasta. S was back home early and the change in weather was really welcome. I think this was the first day that I enjoyed being here.



For the Pesto Pasta

What you need -

2 medium sized tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 cups of pasta / spaghetti
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilli flakes (optional)
2-3 tbsp milk

Pesto
1 1/2 cup packed, cleaned and chopped coriander
1/2 cup walnuts
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper corns

What you do with it -

Grind together all the ingredients under Pesto to a smooth paste, without adding any water. Add more olive oil if required.
Add salt to water and bring to boil. Cook pasta in it as per instructions on the packet
Chop the garlic and tomatoes
Add a little olive oil in a pan and add then the garlic
Add in the pesto and stir, adding spoonfuls of milk
Add the pasta, salt and chilli flakes
Add tomatoes and turn off the heat
Add grated cheese over the pasta if you like

(You could substitute the coriander with spinach / basil)

Spinach Bread

This one is adapted from this wonderful book 'Baking' by Martha Day, which has well-explained simple steps to baking and great for a beginner like me
Skipped the bacon and use wheat flour instead of the AP flour

Sending this to Yeastspotting, hosted by Nick of imafoodblog this week

What you need -

4 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 onion
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 cups chopped spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated cheese

What you do with it -

Put water in a bowl, sprinkle yeast and add sugar
Mix and allow to proof for 10-15 mins
Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion
Add the chopped spinach to this and stir till the spinach is cooked and dry
In a large bowl, add the flour and salt
Make a well in the centre and pour the yeast mixture
Add the onions and spinach and knead to make a soft dough, using a little more olive oil if required
Cover and keep aside for about an hour or till the dough has doubled
Grease a pan / loaf tin
Punch the dough down and knead lightly and transfer to the greased tin and allow to rise again for about 30 mins
Sprinkle the grated cheese over it
Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F
Bake the loaf for 25-30 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool

Broccoli and Pasta Bake

I have been doing a lot of cooking, but either we are all too hungry, or so busy chatting and munching, that I havent taken any pics to post.
Last Sunday was lunch at my brother's place and I made aloo tikki with khattey meethey choley from Ranjani's blog and espresso panna cotta from Deeba's. Ma made dahi vada and my sister-in-law made pulav, ginger potatoes and a lovely boondi raita.

Today, I finally made bread after two attempts of yeast not rising, because of the lovely weather here !!
Also made a broccoli pasta bake, which turned out quite filling.



Combined a whole lot of recipes I've tried earlier for my broccoli pasta bake, threw in a few mushrooms and capsicums and layered it with potato, breadcrumb, egg and cheese.
This particular layer of egg was something I had seen on one of the Nigella Express shows, where she whipped up some cornflour, cheese, egg and milk and topped it over a soup, if I remember right and it gave it a souffle effect, which looked so awesome - everything she makes looks awesome anyway !
I skipped the cheese in the milk and added it as a separate layer over the egg layer. It set the dish real well and gave it this nice firm look. Unfortunately, the dish was too deep, so while pulling out a slice, it got messed a bit, but tasted great anyways...
The bread tuned out nice too. More on that in my next post.

The sauteed veggies which was the first layer...



Next came the potatoes, breadcrumbs and egg and cheese.
And here's the bake, all nice and brown...




What you need

1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup mushrooms (use more if you like, I had just this much at home)
1 onion
1 tomato
1 green capsicum / bell pepper
1 cup pasta (Use any short pasta - I used mini farfalle)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp mozzarella shredded
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed pepper
1 tsp chili flakes
1 egg
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
2 potatoes boiled

You can finish the topping with either the breadcrumbs or potato or eggs. I was just in the mood to add everythign I had !

What you do with it -

Boil water in a large pot with some salt and a drop of oil
Put the pasta in it and boil for 5-7 mins
Drain and water and set aside
Chop the capsicum, onion and tomato
Quarter the mushrooms
Cut brocolli into small florets
Heat a tsp of butter, add the onions, capsicum and brocolli and saute
Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and saute some more
Add the chopped tomato and pasta
Keep on heat for 2 mins and turn off the heat
Beat an egg with 1/2 cup milk, 1 tsp cornflour, a little salt and oregano to it
Mash the boiled potatoes with 1/2 tsp butter and a pinch of salt
In a greased pan, pour in the pasta, then add a layer of mashed potatoes
Top it with a layer of breadcrumbs and then pour the beaten egg mixture
spread the grated cheese over it
Preheat the oven to 180 deg C
Bake for about 20-25 mins till the cheese is nice and brown