Food, food, food..call me and I will be there. Some cuisines are just made to your palate and over a period of time your taste buds transport the thrill to your hands and you want to experiment making those dishes. This reminds me of the days when I got exposed to the Italian cuisine for the first time.
It was my BFF’s birthday and Pizza Hut had newly opened in our city. ” Ooh !! Wow we are meeting at the new joint, what are you wearing on your day ?” , said I. ” I will be in a burgundy gown and remember gown is also the dress code” , she replied. I was all set for this fun party in a beige pencil gown.
We were asked to request our PIZZAs, not to miss that was my first pizza ever. The Indian parents then strongly felt there was no better bread than the chapati and the only way of feeding veggies was the delish ,oily, spicy Indian curries. Basically and possibly they were ignorant about the spices, flavours and herbs from the other half of the world. But then started the dental college away from home and the influence and it lead to my own li’l journey to the world food and different cuisines.
I have been across some authentic Asian and European cuisines in last couple of years and the Italian food culture has always amused me, hearty healthy, herby food… Mama Mia is what you call it.
Being a vegetarian, the options are pretty limited but the flavours are not. While the world may see you as a minor population of food paupers, I personally feel I have not missed much on the way. Rather I have always tried to find the substitute.
My love for Italian cuisine has only grown over the years. Different shapes, sizes, colours of pasta; stuffed, thick thin pizza crusts, variety of mouth watering toppings, melt in mouth gold –cheeses, antipasti and salads, and accompaniments like garlic bread and dough balls can’t be missed. Desserts are another aspect and tiramisu is my favourite.
Baked pasta has been a hit with BBC good food, lately and the li’l Jamie Oliver inside me decided to try one of them with some Indian thought and twist( don’t forget I carry their genes😉😉😉) to the very Italian arabiata. The work was applauded by the family and friends and this is how my pasta box looks like while the recipe follows my instapic:
Recipe for two👫
Ingredients :
*2 cups Penne pasta
*1 tin of chopped tomatoes
*4 -5 cloves of peeled garlic
*7-8 pitted olives (optional)
* 1/3 cup sweet corn (optional)
* handful of baby spinach (optional)
* basil leaves
*mild cheddar cheese
*herb mix – oregano, grounded black pepper and capers or chilli flakes
* salt to taste
*1 tbsp of olive oil
Method:
# boil pasta in a pan with water, some salt and olive oil until al dente and leave a little pasta water in the pan instead of draining it all.
# add olive oil to a pan, add chopped garlic and chilli flakes and cook till the raw smell of garlic fades away.
# add tinned tomato and cook till the raw smell of tomatoes diminishes.
#add sweet corn and olives to the mix.
#add precooked pasta, salt and mix well.
# add spinach leaves, basil and herb mix and toss .
#preheat the gas oven to 180 degrees.
# transfer the cooked pasta to a pyrex baking dish.
# top it up with some basil leaves, add the cheddar cheese and the remaining herb mix.
# bake for 15 min in the oven and last 5 min at 200 degrees or until the cheese on the top turns golden brown.
# garnish with some basil leaves.
And dig in a hot straight from oven pasta with some garlic bread to slurp till your next food craving 😍😍.
For an insight 