PastaFrenzy – The Secret Ingredient

American Cuisine

Charred Bell Pepper and Pine Nut Pasta Recipe | Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Pine Nuts Fettuccine Pasta

By anshu September 22, 2016

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Sometimes you have a special attraction towards a particular type of ingredient. You may be fascinated by its taste or simply its appearance. I have such a fetish towards bell peppers, the red ones, the yellow ones and oh the orange ones. When I find them displayed in the supermarket I wanna hoard them. I love the way they make every dish look and taste special. The most interesting thing is that when you roast them they become sweeter and have such an amazing smokey taste.

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Last time when I found these I made charred Bell Pepper and Black eyed Peas Salad. Oh that was a hit in my house. The charred flavours of bell peppers lingers on in your mouth and want you to have them more and more. If you wanna know how to roast bell peppers in oven you can click here. For the sheer love of roasted bell peppers I tried pasta with charred bell pepper and pine nuts sauce. It came out so well and delicious that my husband wants this every now and then. Its a perfect under 30 minute dinner idea. Try it to believe it.

Directions:

1. Boil pasta of your choice till al dente. Learn how to boil pasta perfectly. Strain and keep aside. In the meanwhile take some fresh pine nut and remove them from its shell.

2. Toss the pine nuts in a pan on medium high heat for a couple of minutes just to get a bit of colour on them. Do not burn them! Remove them on a plate and set aside.

3. Chop Onion and Garlic finely and set aside. Also roast bell peppers and remove its skin, seeds and membranes. Learn how to roast your bell pepper in your oven.

4. In a grinder add your roasted bell peppers and toasted pine nuts and make a smooth puree.

5. In a pan add some olive oil and add Red Chilli Flakes. We are infusing the oil with the taste of chili. But if you dont like chili you can always ignore this step.

6. Add chopped Onions and garlic and saute them till they have acquired a light golden colour.

7. Add the puree and combine together with onions and garlic. Let it simmer on low medium heat for 5-7 minutes till it starts to bubble up.

8. Season with salt and to make it more velvety add cream to it.

9. Add the boiled pasta and toss it with the sauce.

10. Add Parsley, I used dried because that is what I had on hand. You can use fresh and it will make it more delicious! Also add Parmesan Cheese and combine everything together.

7. Serve hot and enjoy the incredible taste of Roasted Pell Pepper and Pine nut Sauce Pasta. All I need is a glass of wine to make my day 🙂

Other pasta recipes Avocado Parsley Pasta, Healthy Broccoli Pasta, Pasta Alla Vodka, Sautéed Red Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad, Spaghetti Vegetable Pasta, Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad, Wild Fiddlehead Fern & Angel Hair Pasta,

roastedbellpepperpasta_featured1 [whohit]RoastedBellPepperPinenutPasta[/whohit]

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Dinner

Quick Vegetarian Lasagna in a Mug Recipe | Mushroom Lasagna in a Microwave

By anshu July 30, 2016

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I am an extremely lazy person and when that laziness assimilates in me I look for all possible ways to cut short my work, be it cooking, exercise or anything else. Such times see emergence of use of microwave in my kitchen. I hate microwaves and use it only for reheating. I detest baking in it but this lasagna recipe made me change my opinion about microwaves. This single serving lasagna in a mug is like your best buddy and can be made by anyone. Bachelors will love some quick fix dishes and so will people who are lazy like me.

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This no cook pasta sauce has been a boon in disguise. I love it for my pizzas and for everything which requires red sauce. Gets ready in a jiffy without any hassle. The ricotta cheese can also be made in no time. Its just paneer with a little salt which is not set and has a crumbly texture. All you need is to curdle milk, drain the whey and its ready to use. Check out a detailed step wise step recipe to make Ricotta Cheese at home.

Directions:
1. In a glass microwave friendly bowl add water and Lasagna sheet and microwave for 3 minutes. Cut it into small squares and set aside.

2. Chop Mushrooms and Shred Mozzarella Cheese, set aside.

3. In a bowl add Chopped mushroom, Ricotta Cheese, ground black pepper, granulated garlic,red chili flakes, chopped basil leaves and salt. Set mixture aside.

4. Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients under No Cook Red Pasta Sauce. Set aside for assembly.

5. Pour 2 tablespoons of pasta sauce at the bottom of the mug. Top with a piece of softened pasta sheet. Add some mushroom mixture, 2 tablespoons of mozzarella, and a pasta sheet. Continue building the lasagna, ending with a layer of pasta sheet at the top. Sprinkle mozzarella over the pasta.

6. Microwave everything for 1 minute 30 seconds or until Mozzarella Cheese melts. Serve hot.

Other Lasagna recipes you can try: Vegetarian Mushroom Lasagna in Creamy White Sauce, Cheesy Chicken Lasagna .

Other Pasta dishes you can try: Healthy Broccoli Pasta, Pasta Alla Vodka, Sautéed Red Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad , Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad, Wild Fiddlehead Fern & Angel Hair Pasta , Avocado Parsley Pasta.

MicrowaveMugLasagna_Featured1 [whohit]LasagnaMug[whohit]

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Dinner

Wild Fiddlehead Fern & Angel Hair Pasta | Pahadi Lingda with Garlic and Herb Pasta

By anshu July 19, 2016

I am always curious to try new food, especially which are localised. When monsoons engulfed the hills we were blessed with some interesting looking vegetables. They caught my attention and I decided to bring them home. They looked curvy coiling and simply gorgeous! I enquired the locals about its name and to share its recipe. It is known by many names Lingda, Lingadh, Lingude, Lingru, Loongru, Lungdu, Liyon, Languda, Kutelda, Kasrod, Nuri, Neuri, Nigro, Niyuro, Dhekia Xaak.

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Interestingly it is found in spring season on hilly terrain near marshy areas. In the Indian subcontinent, it is found in the Himalayan North and North Eastern states of India. Also these are found in Canada, Alaska, France and East Asian Countries.

I asked my readers to suggest recipes from their regions and I am elated I have a few I would like to try. In the meanwhile I experimented and decided to cook it with Angel hair pasta. To my surprise it was beautifully delicious. The ferns which are thin and tender are best suitable for cooking and you can cook them directly without steaming or boiling. But if you end up finding ferns which are thicker simply boil them and the thicker outer skin will come out easily. This will help you save time on peeling.

Directions:

1. Wash the entire fern under running water and specially the centre are which can have a lot of insects, after all its a wild plant. Once you wash them out. Run a kitchen towel it will clean out all the brown membranes , hair like structure and cut the ends.

2. In a pot boil some water and add the ferns to blanch for good 8-10 minutes, in case they are thick and if you see they are tender about 2-3 minutes will do the trick. Do add salt and drain them once done.

3. After draining them you will be able to peel out the top thick skin easily even with your hands, or else use a knife. Discard the skin and reserve the tender portion. Cut the tender portion into bite size pieces. I liked the coil shape of the fern so dint cut the circle.

4. In another pot add some water and boil some angel hair pasta or rice noodles. Cook them for 5-8 minutes and drain the water. Run them under cold water and reserve.

5. In a pan add some butter and olive oil.

6. Add chopped onions and garlic and saute them over low flame. Add chilli flakes to bring up the heat.

7. Add boiled and peeled Ferns and saute them till they become slight brown in colour. Add some fresh herbs, I used fresh thyme and chives from my kitchen garden. If you do not have fresh herbs add a combination of dried herbs.

8. Season with salt and ground black pepper.

9. Add the drained pasta and toss iot around carefully. Add a drizzle of olive oil to unite them.

10. Divide the portions into individual serving plates and grate some parmesan cheese. Serve hot.

Other Pasta dishes you may like to try here: Avocado Parsley Pasta, Cheesy Chicken Lasagna, Healthy Broccoli Pasta, Pasta Alla Vodka, Sautéed Red Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad, Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad, Vegetarian Mushroom Lasagna in Creamy White Sauce.

[whohit]FiddleheadFernPasta[/whohit]

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Dinner

Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta | Basil Pesto Chicken Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes

By anshu May 2, 2016

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When it comes to Pastas, my heart skips a beat. I can eat pasta in any form, any sauce and even boiled 😛 But when you see an authentic Italian pasta on a platter that love transforms into madness. I made Italian Basil Pesto the other day and me and my husband were going gaga over it. We finished more than half the jar by simply smearing it on our breads and eating it. Then I gave an ultimatum to my husband that we are not eating it like this any more and that I needed to make something with this.

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I had some chicken breast and a jar of sun dried tomatoes. Believe it or not the pasta came together in fifteen minutes. By the time I finished boiling the spaghetti, the chicken was ready. I arranged everything together and served. What an amazing dinner it was. So refreshing, light and still filling. In my unconscious mind I took a small trip to Italy <3

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta of your choice till al dente and set aside. (Learn how to Boil Pasta perfectly). Take out the sundried tomatoes from the jar. And cut them into small bite size pieces. Set aside.

2. Cube the chicken breast. Also mince some garlic and set aside. You can always substitute Chicken with Mushrooms for the vegetarian twist.

3. In a pan add some Olive oil and add minced garlic to the pan and give it a toss.

4. Add Chicken and cook till it has turned white from pink.

5. Season with Salt and Black pepper. Turn the flame off when it’s cooked.

6. Add the Basil Pesto to the Boiled pasta and also add the chopped sundried tomatoes.

7. Toss them together using a set of forks.

8. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle some Lemon juice on it. Serve it hot or at room temperature.

Other Pasta recipes you can try here are: Avocado Parsley Pasta, Healthy Broccoli Pasta, Italian Chicken Meatballs with Spaghetti, Pasta Alla Vodka, Sautéed Red Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad, Sautéed Red Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad, Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad, Vegetarian Hakka Noodles.

ChickenPestoPasta_Featured4 [whohit]chickenPestoPasta[/whohit]

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Dinner

Italian Chicken Meatballs with Spaghetti | Meatballs Napoletane

By anshu December 9, 2015

After Thanksgiving its time for Christmas. Festivity in true sense is spending ample time with family and loved ones. What can be more cherishable than eating together a meal with your family. I love those family reunions. During such get togethers I personally like to serve food which is easy to put together and can be made way in advance. Of course I don’t want to end up cooking in kitchen while rest of the family is having fun together. 😉 Casserole dishes like Lasagnas are best for such holiday get togethers. Sometime back I made Cheesy Chicken Lasagna and Mushroom Lasagna in Bechamel Sauce. But there is another interesting dish Italian Meat balls, which can be made well before time and served with freshly boiled spaghetti pasta.

Its a classic Italian dish which is flavourful and loved by everyone. It requires just a few basic ingredients and you can pull it off with ease. Traditionally meatballs is done with some kind of meat but I am sharing this recipe which uses chicken, which is lean and has less calories. You can replace the chicken with any red meat of your choice.

Directions:

1. Finely chop Onions, garlic and Fresh Basil.

2. In a large mixing bowl add fresh bread crumb* and milk.

3. Add to it an egg and finely chopped basil and grated garlic.

4. Add chopped onion and parmesan cheese.

5. Garnish with Salt and Pepper and mix everything well with a fork.

6. Add minced chicken or any other meat you are using. Mix everything with your hand to form a homogenous mixture but do not over work the meat or you will end up getting tougher balls.

7. Take little mixture in hand and form golf size balls.

8. Add Olive oil to a flat bottom non stick pan and heat it over medium heat. Add the balls into it carefully ensuring not to break them. You can cook them in batches. Cook them for a couple of minutes on both sides. They must get that golden brown colour. Be careful when you flip them.

9. Place them in a tray until you finish cooking all the balls.

10. In a blender add ripe tomatoes and make a smooth puree. You can use canned tomatoes as well.

11. In the same pan add a little more oil and add onions. Saute them for a while and then add wine and cook for a minute more.

12. Add the tomato puree to the pan and give it a good stir. Carefully drop meatballs to the pan ensuring the meatballs are completely covered in the sauce. Put the lid on and let it cook on low heat for good 1 hour and 45 minutes. Keep stirring in between to ensure the bottom doesn’t get cooked quickly

12. Season with Salt and Pepper and top it up with torn basil.

13. Serve hot with boiled Spaghetti or any pasta of your choice. Learn how to boil pasta perfectly.

Other Pasta dishes you can try here are Pasta Alla Vodka, Avocado Parsley Pasta , Healthy Broccoli Pasta, Sautéed Red Bell Pepper and Olive Pasta Salad, Spaghetti Vegetable Pasta, Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad.

Other Italian food you can try : Mushroom Risotto, Frittata with Mushrooms and Spinach, Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread, Cherry Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia Bread, Italian Almond Biscotti, Roasted Rosemary Garlic Potatoes.

[whohit]ChickenMeatballs[/whohit]

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Dinner

Healthy Broccoli Pasta | No Cream Broccoli Pasta

By anshu September 30, 2015

I have mentioned time and again that I am a die hard fan of pasta in all its forms. I don’t mind if its cheesy, boozy, creamy or simply loaded with veggies. Pasta holds a sacred place in my heart. As my little up is growing up I have seen similar or more violent streak to devour pasta. This makes the matter serious since we are a complete pasta loving family and I have to come up with more and more pasta recipes. Sigh!

Well lately my husband and me are on a load shedding spree, which means creamy and cheesy pastas have to be kept at bay. 🙁 I decided to make this healthier pasta with Broccoli which uses no cream and very little cheese and that too is purely optional. I have always loved such simple pastas. You can enjoy them without feeling very guilty ;). I had earlier posted Sauteed Red Bell Pepper & Olive Pasta which was also without cream and cheese.

Directions:

1. Cut the broccoli into florets and wash them under running water to make it dirt free. Boil pasta as per packet instructions. You can choose any shape you like. Learn how to boil pasta perfectly.

2. Drain water and keep the florets aside. Also finely chop some garlic or you can even mince it.

3. In a pan add some olive oil.

4. Add chopped garlic and Red chilli Flakes to the oil. Let the oil get infused with garlic and red chili flakes while it heats up.

5. Add broccoli florets and give it a toss in the oil.

6. Add water and stock bullion. Or you can use vegetable stock only.

7. Season with salt and let it cook covered on low medium heat till broccoli is partially cooked. You will be able to cut the broccoli with a spatula.