Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and spring onions

A pack of spaghetti has been lying in my pantry for few weeks and just yesterday I harvested some fresh and aromatic spring onions. 
Thought of pairing it with the spaghetti and yea also had some ripe cherry tomatoes to be plucked from the pots.
So thought of bringing all this ingredients together to prepare spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and spring onions and the verdict was super yum!

I am bad with stories and hence jumping to the recipe: P

Ingredients

Olive oil – 2 -3 tbsp.

Finely chopped garlic – 1-2 tsp. 

Finely chopped spring onion heads - 1/4 cup

Spaghetti – 250 gms

Water in which spaghetti was cooked - 1 cup

Salt, pepper, chilli flakes, Italian seasoning – as per your wish

Method

• Cook the spaghetti and keep aside.
• Take a deep wok or a skillet and add the olive oil, throw in the chopped garlic and spring onion heads, sauté well.
• Add about a cup of water in which spaghetti was cooked and simmer a while 
• Now add the cooked spaghetti and add salt, pepper and stir well.
• Add the chopped cherry tomatoes and spring onion and stir again. 
• Add the Italian seasoning and chilli flakes and grated cheese at this stage.
• Stir well again and serve hot!!

Note:

Spaghetti can be cooked in a huge pot of boiling water in which a little olive oil and salt is added.

Alternatively you can pressure cook the spaghetti by adding 6 cups of water to 250 gms of spaghetti, salt and cooking for one whistle. Retain one cup of water in which spaghetti is cooked for the recipe. 

Cook, serve and enjoy :)
Thank you 

Chaithanya

Pasta in white sauce with leeks, mushrooms and capsicums

Weekend breakfast demanded by my 3 yrs old daughter : ) Recipe as follows

For white sauce
Butter - 60 gms
Flour- 50 gms
Hot milk - 600 mls

For pasta
Uncooked pasta- 2 cups
Whey - 1 cup (have saved the whey after removing paneer from milk)
Water - 1 cup
Capsicum (bell peppers) - one red one
Mushrooms - 1/2 cup chopped
Leeks - 7-8 no.s
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Olive oil - 2-4 tbspn

For seasoning 
Oregano
Pepper
Salt
Chilli flakes
Grated cheese

Method

Heat up the butter in a shallow pan, add the flour whisking thoroughly and then pour in the hot milk little by little whisking continuously so that no lumps are formed.  You white sauce is ready and keep aside

Cook pasta in pressure cooker for one whistle adding whey and water ( Disclaimer : my new method :) )


Heat up the pan, pour in 2-4 tbspn of olive oil. Add in finely chopped leeks and saute till the leeks wilt off, throw in the chopped mushrooms and capsicums, saute for 2-3 minutes and then add in the cooked pasta. Pour in half cup of white sauce and season with oregano, chilli flakes, pepper and salt. Grate in cheese as required and serve hot!

Pasta in coconut milk

Yesterday I thought of using coconut milk while making pasta. I made it quite simple, easy and quick. I am sure we will be happy if the kids have it with minimum fuss, and yes they enjoyed it. Following is the recipe  and you may ignore the picture of poor light at night ;)


Pasta- one cup (any type)
Water - 3 cups
Cheese cubes- 1 or 2 or as much as you like
coconut milk - 1/2 cup
carrots- 2 med sizes
oregano , chilli flakes, pepper powder, salt - as required


This pasta i made in the pressure cooker, yes pressure cooked, gets easier and less messier!


Ok , so to get into the recipe
Put the pasta and water in the pressure cooker, add the grated carrots and pressure cook for one whistle. wait for five minutes and the remove the pressure ( else pasta gets over cooked) . Open the lid , add in the coconut milk and keep on the stove again. Stir well and reduce the sauce. Sprinkle the seasoning and cheese and stir well and serve hot!

Sesame pasta

Sesame pasta


Ingredients:


For the spicy sesame sauce:
1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2-3 fresh green chillies seeded and minced
1/4 cup sesame powdered
1/4 cup soy milk
2 tbsp brown sugar/ jaggery
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup rice noodles, fresh or dry or spaghetti noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup julienned red peppers
1 cup julienned green onions ( can use spring onion also)
1 cup of chopped carrots, broccoli , babycorn 
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, to garnish


Method:
To prepare the sauce, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and green chillies and sauté for 1 minute. Add powdered sesame seeds , soy milk, lemon juice and palm sugar. Cook, stirring constantly until the sauce is hot and the  tahini has melted, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers and green onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Str in the noodles and sesame sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving dish. Garnish with sesame seeds.