Pasta

Baked Pasta Surprise

By / Entrée, Poultry / 2 Comments /

Do you like pasta? Do you like baked stuff? Do you like surprises? Yay! Then this is for you!

 
BPS-closeup

And the best thing is, you can select your own surprise, sort of customizing the dish to your personal preferences. Who wants to follow some standard recipe, where you have to strictly follow what is written down, right? I’m all about flexibility in cooking, and I expect my readers would be too.

 
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Conceptually, the dish is very simple. You prepare a set of ramekins…

 
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You choose a pasta – you can pick your shape, as long as it is not too big. My choice was a simple spaghetti. Drench the cooked pasta in a creamy béchamel sauce.

 
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Now comes the surprise… a filling, something that contrasts with the creaminess of the béchamel sauce. Something spicy or tomatoey will do very well. Chopped turkey cooked in a thickened tomato sauce with onion, ginger and garlic is what I used here. You can even do a vegetarian filling.

 
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Put down a layer of the pasta in the ramekins, a layer of your chosen filling, and another layer of pasta to wrap up.

 
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If you want, you can enhance the flavours with the addition of cheese at different layers. I added some pecorino at the bottom of the ramekin and a bit of shaved cheddar over the filling.

 
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For best results, you need to bake this in a water bath, with the water level coming up to half the height of the ramekins.

 
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Make sure to wipe down the rims of the ramekins so that you don’t get burnt crusts along the top.

 
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When done, just inverse the ramekins onto a plate and dig in!

 
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Though this dish is a bit time consuming, it is well worth the effort. And all you need is a plain green salad to go with it.

 

~Ria

 

Baked Pasta Surprise
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Main meal
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Ingredients
  • 8 oz spaghetti
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 tsp flour
  • 2 ½ cups milk
  • ½ tsp nutmeg powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 ½ lb chopped lean turkey
  • 1 large onion
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • ¼ cup grated pecorino cheese
  • ¼ cup yellow cheddar cheese, shaved into thin slices
Directions
  1. Chop the onion into small, thin slices.
  2. Slice the ginger and garlic thinly.
  3. In a largish pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil.
  4. Add the onions and fry.
  5. When the onions are half done, add the ginger and garlic and continue frying.
  6. When the onions start to caramelise, that is they begin to brown, add the cumin and chilli powders.
  7. After a quick stir, promptly add the chopped turkey and stir to mix.
  8. Add enough salt and cover and cook, adding a little water if required.
  9. When all the water has evaporated and the meat mix is dry, remove from the heat.
  10. In a large pot of salted water, boil the pasta till it is just tender.
  11. Drain and rinse under cold water and keep aside.
  12. To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a large pan,
  13. Add the flour and mix together, stirring continuously.
  14. Continue cooking for two minutes.
  15. Add the milk in one stream, stirring continuously.
  16. Mix thoroughly and reduce the heat.
  17. Add the nutmeg powder and the oregano to the sauce, along with enough salt.
  18. Bring to a slow boil, continuously stirring, and remove from heat.
  19. Add the boiled pasta to the sauce and mix well.
  20. Take 4 oz ramekins and brush their insides with butter.
  21. Sprinkle them liberally with breadcrumbs and shake off any excess.
  22. Pre-heat the oven to 420 degree farenheit.
  23. To assemble, sprinkle half a spoon of pecorino cheese in each ramekin.
  24. Fill one third of each ramekin with the pasta mix.
  25. Add the meat filling till two thirds of each ramekin.
  26. Add a few thin slices of cheddar cheese.
  27. Finally add enough pasta as the third layer till it is a little below the rim.
  28. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and fill the pan with water till the water level comes up to half the height of the ramekins.
  29. Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  30. Check for doneness by inserting a skewer into the center of a ramekin. If the skewer comes clean, the dish is ready.
  31. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
  32. Carefully invert each ramekin onto a plate, and serve hot with a green salad on the side.

 

Cilantro Pesto Pasta

By / Entrée, Vegetarian / 2 Comments /

There is no easier go-to food than pasta… In the time that the water takes to boil and cook the pasta, you can get the sauce done. And if you are in a hurry, nothing is faster than a pesto sauce. However, just because it can be done quickly, it doesn’t mean that pesto is a simple thing; the flavours in a pesto sauce can be complex and intriguing. What is more, you can experiment with different combinations of ingredients.
 
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Basically, a pesto sauce needs a nut base to give it body. Add to it any green herb to form the foundation of the flavour. And olive oil to bring it all together. The rest is entirely up to you… you can try various accent flavours to focus on, till you find your favourite combinations.
 
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The pesto sauce I have used here is very basic, with cashew nuts and cilantro. Flavoured with garlic, ginger and lemon juice. You can keep this pesto sauce in the refrigerator for a week, in an airtight jar.
 
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This pesto is rather versatile. You can use it with just vegetables or a combination of chicken and vegetables. If using chicken, the easiest way will be to either grill it or pan cook it and then slice it into thin strips. Here I have used just vegetables, a combination of peppers in three colours, mushrooms and egg plant.
 
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Also, you can use any kind small sized pasta for this dish. However, I always prefer spaghetti to go with a pesto sauce. Nice to swirl around your fork!
 
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Enjoy!

~Ria

Cilantro Pesto Pasta
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
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Ingredients
  • ½ cup cashew nuts
  • 1 cup cilantro, measured after cleaning and chopping
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • A small piece ginger root
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 jalapeño or any variety green chilli
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups mixed vegetables, cut into thin long pieces (any combination of peppers, squash, broccoli florets, mushrooms, egg plant, etc)
  • ½ lb spaghetti
Directions
  1. Soak the cashew nuts in sufficient water to submerge for an hour. (If you do not have the time to soak the cashew, you can as well use pine nuts which do not need to be soaked.)
  2. Pick only the leaves and tender stalks of cilantro and chop.
  3. Remove the skins of garlic and ginger.
  4. Carefully remove the stem and seeds of the jalapeno.
  5. In the blender, add the nuts, cilantro, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, lemon juice, and sugar, and blend well. Add salt and black pepper to taste. When blended into a paste, drizzle the olive oil in a thin stream while the blender is still running. When all the oil is used up, switch off the blender and set the pesto sauce aside in a container.
  6. Cut the vegetables into long thin strips.
  7. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the vegetables and stir fry for three minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
  8. Add some salt to a pot of water and bring to boil. Add the spaghetti and cook uncovered. After 8 minutes, check for doneness. When you can bite into a strand of spaghetti easily, but there is a bit of resistance at the center, it is done enough. Drain the water off the pasta and transfer the pasta to a largish dish. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the pasta and shake together to coat.
  9. Add the stir fired vegetables to the pasta. Drizzle the pesto sauce over the pasta and vegetables and carefully mix together.
  10. Serve hot with extra pesto sauce on the side.