Pasta in red tomato sauce

Pasta that we eat in India is to a great deal Indianised just like the Chinese cuisine we eat is more of Indo Chinese. So even with the pasta dish I have adapted it to my taste. There are so many varieties of pasta. You can sue any one that suits you as this sauce goes well with all kinds of pasta. I have used Penne Rigate, a tubular kind which is well suited to using with red sauce. The tube like structure hold the sauce inside and you get a mouth full of flavour with each bite.


Ingredients

For the red sauce
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
5 tomatoes, blanched and chopped
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp red chilli flakes
3 tbsp fresh cream
1 tsp dried oregano

Heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute. Add the chopped onions. Cook till the onions become soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Cover and cook till the whole thing comes together. The tomato should be cooked and mushy. Take off the heat and cool a little. Take about ¾ of the mix and puree it well in the mixer. Now add it to the rest of the mix. Put it back on the gas again. Check the seasoning. Now add the cream and oregano. Switch off the flame.


For the pasta
2 cups of Penne Rigate
5 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oil

Bring the 5 cups of water to a boil along with salt and oil. Add the pasta and boil till it is well done. Drain the hot water and wash the pasta is cold water. Keep aside.


Assembling the pasta
1 tbsp oil
½ cup grated cheese
2 sausages, chopped (optional)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp fried garlic

Heat the oil. Add the red sauce and once it starts simmering add the pasta and sausages. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning. Switch off the flame. Add the cheese and mix so that it melts. Sprinkle oregano and fried garlic on top.

Lasagna

Lasagna

I find pasta very interesting. 

First of all there are so many of them : long pasta, ribbon cut pasta, irregular pasta, stuffed pasta, and so on and so forth. Then there are sub varieties also : Anelloni, Bucatini, Capellini, Fusilli, Ziti, Fettuccine, Lasagna, Linguine, Tagliatelle, etc. and just imagine in older days all these used to be made by hand.

Lasagna is something which I love to make. It is simple and easy. And you can experiment with the fillings. 

Here I am layering the lasagna sheets with chicken mince and spinach. You can layer them with mixed vegetables, corn, broccoli, even crushed soya granules. The white sauce is cheesy and the red sauce has the acidity of tomatoes. The contrast between these two are not only a feast for the eyes but also for the taste buds.

Ingredients

Lasagne sheets

For the chicken mince stuffing

150 gms chicken mince

4 garlic pods, chopped

100 gm tomato puree

Salt to taste

Chopped green coriander

For the spinach layer

1 bunch baby spinach, chopped fine

2 garlic pods, chopped

Salt to taste

For the béchamel sauce

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

2 bay leaves

2 cloves

1 onion, sliced

2 cups milk (you might need to add more if the mixture becomes too thick)

½ cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 tsp oregano

½ tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

Pinch of nutmeg powder

First of all prepare the fillings.

Start with the chicken filling. Put a pressure cooker on gas. Add some olive oil. Saute the chopped garlic. Add the chicken mince and cook well on high heat. 

Add the tomato puree and salt and cook till the puree is almost dry. Close the lid of the cooker and give one whistle. After the pressure drops open the lid and check the mice. If it is too liquidy then dry it a little.

For the spinach layer you have to simply lightly saute the spinach. Heat some oil in a pan. Add the chopped garlic, spinach and salt to taste. Saute on high heat till the spinach leaves wilt. Make sure the mixture is dry.

After the fillings are ready you can start on the lasagne sheets and the béchamel sauce.

For the béchamel sauce infuse the milk with onion, bay leaves and cloves. Put them all to boil. After one boil turn off the gas and let it sit for 1 hour. Strain the milk.

Heat a pan and add the butter. 

Sprinkle the flour and mix well. Slowly add the milk and keep stirring so that no lumps remain. Make a smooth emulsion. Take off the heat. Sprinkle salt, nutmeg powder, oregano, black pepper powder and cheese.

Put a pan of water to boil. As it starts boiling add the lasagne sheets 2 at a time and boil till they are semi-soft. Keep aside.

Now you have to simply layer all these ingredients.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

Take a baking dish. Spread a layer of chicken mince. 

Now arrange a layer of lasagne sheets. Spread another layer of mince and then a layer of spinach. 

Arrange a second layer of lasagne. 

Spread some more mince on top. Then spread a layer of béchamel sauce. 

Sprinkle some grated cheese on top. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes.

 

Homemade Gnocchi

Homemade Gnocchi

I have bought this pasta machine but have been too scared to use it. Things seem pretty scary until you try them out. Same was the case with Gnocchi. My son has tried out Gnocchi in restaurants a few times and he loves it. When he stood first in his class his demand was that I make Gnocchi for him. That is how I finally ended up making Gnocchi at home.

Gnocchi means “dumplings” in Italian. They are made with potatoes and flour. The boiled potatoes are riced and mixed with flour to make dumplings that are then boiled. They can also be made with semolina, cheese, eggs, breadcrumbs etc. I have tossed the Gnocchi in Arrabbiata sauce.

Ingredients

For the Gnocchi

6 large potatoes, boiled

2 cups flour+1/2 cup flour

1 egg

Salt to taste

For the sauce

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 ½ cups Arrabbiata Sauce
(Get the recipe here: http://apigeonnapie.blogspot.in/2015/07/arrabbiata-sauce.html)

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp oregano

Drain and cool the potatoes. Use a fork to mash them. Clean a working surface in the kitchen. Dump 2 cups flour on the surface. Sprinkle some salt. Add the mashed potatoes. 

Mix together. Add one egg and slowly bring the dough together. 

Do not knead the dough. You can add some more flour if you feel the dough is too sticky and is not coming together. However remember that adding too much flour will make the Gnocchi hard.

Put a big pan of water to boil.

Cut the dough into 6-7 portions. 

Now take each portion and roll it out into a thin rope. 

Cut small pieces of Gnocchi and put into the boiling water. 

The Gnocchi will float to the top after a few minutes. Take them out with a slotted spoon. 

The Gnocchi is ready.

Heat some olive oil. Saute the chopped garlic on low flame till they are well fried. 

Add the Gnocchi and Arrabbiata Sauce and toss well. 

Put the Gnocchi in a baking dish. Spread the cheese on top and sprinkle the oregano. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.

Arrabbiata Sauce

Arrabbiata Sauce

A luscious, creamy, garlicky tomato based sauce to have with your pasta. No more introduction is required for the Arrabbiata Sauce!

Ingredients

2 onions, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

5 tomatoes, blanched and chopped

3 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp red chilli flakes

3 tbsp fresh cream

1 tsp dried oregano

Heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute. 

Add the chopped onions. Cook till the onions become soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. 

Cover and cook till the whole thing comes together. The tomato should be cooked and mushy. 

Take off the heat and cool a little. 

Take about ¾ of the mix and puree it well in the mixer. Now add it to the rest of the mix. Put it back on the gas again. Check the seasoning. 

Now add the cream and oregano. Switch off the flame. Your Arabbiata sauce is ready. It should be served warm with pasta.

Penne in White Sauce

Penne in White Sauce

Something creamy, cheesy and mouthwatering. A very simple and basic pasta preparation but yet an all time favorite.

Ingredients

2 cups boiled penne

4 tbsp butter

2 flakes garlic, crushed

2 tbsp flour

1 ½ cups milk

¼ cup cream

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup American corn, boiled

4 sausages, cut into roundels ( optional)

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil the boiled penne and keep aside so that it doesn’t lump together.

Take a pan and melt the butter. Add the crushed garlic and sauté. Add the flour and mix vigorously. Cook on low heat till the flour starts browning a little. Remove from fire and add milk a little at a time mixing well so that no lumps remain. 

Add salt, pepper, oregano and parsley. Return to fire and cook for two minutes till it starts coating the back of a spoon.

Add the cheese and mix well till the cheese melts.

Keep the sauce aside. Heat some butter and toss the penne, corn and sausages in the butter.

 Now mix the penne and white sauce. Garnish with some chopped olives.