Category Archives: Pasta

Skillet Lasagna

September 9, 2013 – 3:49 pm

skillet lasagna

Ingredients:

For marinara sauce

  • 2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
  • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste / sauce
  • 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp salt, if the canned tomatoes are unsalted or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/3 cup finely diced onion
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 tsp sugar

Rest of the ingredients:

  • 8 oz lasagna plates
  • 3-4 medium size zucchini / squash, sliced lengthwise
  • 1 red bell pepper, halved and sliced
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese, drained
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Marinara sauce

  1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan
  2. Add onions and saute for 1-2 minutes
  3. Add garlic and herbs and stir for 1 minute
  4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste white wine, black pepper, sugar, salt (to taste) and parsley leaves
  5. Bring the sauce to boil, reduce heat and let it simmer on medium / low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring it every couple of minutes

Lasagna

Break lasagna plates into quarters and cook in boiling water till desired softness. Else could pressure cook it (3 whistles). Once cooked, wash with cool water and keep aside

Cheese

In a bowl, mix the cheeses with chopped parsley

Steps:

  1. Heat a skillet on medium heat, add olive oil and saute zucchini on both sides, till very lightly brown and then keep aside
  2. Similarly saute red bell pepper and keep aside
  3. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce in the skillet and then place a layer of lasagna on top of it
  4. On top of lasagna, layer the cooked vegetables and pour some sauce to cover the lasagna and vegetables
  5. Similarly, make more layers of lasagna, vegetable and sauce
  6. Scoop up large spoonfuls of cheese mixture and place on top of lasagna layers
  7. Cover and simmer gently for 3-4 minutes
  8. Serve hot with your favorite Italian bread by the side!

Serves: 4

Inspiration source: The Pampered Chef

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By Dilip Shah | Also posted in Entree | Comments (0)

Tomato and Vegetable Soup with Israeli Couscous

July 29, 2013 – 5:15 pm

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Ingredients:

  1. 2 tbsp olive oil
  2. 1 onion, chopped
  3. 2 carrots, diced
  4. 2 celery sticks, diced
  5. 400 g / 14 oz canned or fresh chopped tomatoes
  6. 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  7. 1 liter / 4 cups vegetable stock
  8. 200 g / 8 oz Israeli couscous / any small pasta
  9. 3 sprigs fresh mint, chopped
  10. ¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
  11. ½ tsp ground cumin
  12. Cayenne pepper, to taste
  13. Salt to taste
  14. Ground black pepper to taste

Method:

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan, then add the onion, carrots and celery and cook gently for about 10 minutes on medium heat, till softened
  2. Add garlic, the tomatoes, stock, couscous / pasta, cumin powder, cayenne pepper, mint, cilantro, salt and pepper and bring to boil
  3. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, till the couscous / pasta is cooked and tender
  4. Serve piping hot with your favorite bread

Serves: 4

By Dilip Shah | Comments (0)

Tortellini in Marinara Sauce

July 29, 2013 – 5:03 pm

Tortellini in tomato sauce

Ingredients:

Marinara sauce

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) tomato sauce
  • 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) diced tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried basil leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • Salt to taste

Other ingredients

  • 8 oz (225 g) Tortellini, such as Trader Joe’s Tortellini with cheese / pesto / eggplant filling
  • 2 medium Italian eggplants, cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 2 zucchinis, sliced
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)

Method:

Marinara sauce

  1. Heat oil in a sauce pan
  2. Add minced garlic and bay leaves and fry till garlic turns light brown in color (5-10 seconds)
  3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil leaves, chili powder, sugar and salt and bring to boil
  4. Reduce to low heat and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes, while regularly stirring, till it thickens

The rest of the steps:

  1. Cook tortellini in boiling water till desired softness
  2. Heat oil in a pan
  3. Add eggplant, zucchini and celery to the oil with some salt and stir fry for 3-4 minutes to desired softness
  4. Optionally, you could sprinkle some dried oregano on the vegetables
  5. Serve tortellini and vegetables on a plate with generous portion of marinara sauce poured on the top

Serves: 4

Remarks:

Instead of making your own marinara sauce, you could use ready-made pasta sauce and one of our favorites is Trader Joe’s Three Cheese pasta sauce!

By Dilip Shah | Comments (0)

Fettuccine with Eggplant and Pine Nuts

August 30, 2012 – 1:45 pm
Fettuccine with Eggplant and Pine Nuts

Fettuccine with Eggplant and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium eggplant, diced
  • 2 red onions, diced
  • 3/4 cup pine nuts
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 5 tbsp sundried tomato paste
  • 1/2 vegetable stock
  • 10 oz fettuccine or rotini pasta
  • 1 cup pitted black olives, thickly sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnishing

Method:

  1. Cook pasta to desired softness and then wash with cold water and keep aside
  2. Heat oil in a large pan and saute the eggplant and onions for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and tender
  3. Add pine nuts and garlic and saute for 2 minutes
  4. Stir in the sundried tomato paste and stock and cook for 2 minutes
  5. Add pasta, olives and season to taste with salt and pepper and toss together over moderate heat for 1-2 minutes until combined
  6. Serve hot garnished with parsley

Serves: 2

Inspiration source:

30 minutes vegetarian by Joanna Farrow, Page 24

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Curry Pasta

August 23, 2012 – 7:45 pm
Curry Pasta

Curry Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta and vegetables:

  • 8 oz (225 g) of any whole wheat pasta such as Fusilli
  • 3 medium-size zucchini, sliced
  • 2 medium-size squash, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt

 

Curry sauce:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp garlic, grated
  • 1 tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
  • 1 can (15 oz /425 g) tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • ½ tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup full-cream milk / half-and-half
  • Salt to taste

Method:

Pasta

  1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil
  2. Add 1 tsp salt and pasta and cook till desired softness. Alternatively you could cook pasta in pressure cooker for 3 whistles
  3. Drain the pasta and keep aside
  4. In a wok, heat oil and sauté the vegetables for 4-5 minutes till they become very light brown in color and start softening
  5. Keep the vegetables aside

Curry sauce

  1. Heat ½ tbsp oil in a sauce pan
  2. Sauté onions till they become translucent (not brown)
  3. Once cool, puree the onions to paste. If you puree the onion without sautéing them, they may taste bitter and spoil the entire preparation!
  4. Heat the other ½ tbsp oil in the same pan
  5. Sauté the onion paste, along with grated ginger and garlic for 2-3 minutes
  6. Add tomato sauce, kasuri methi, chili powder, curry powder, sugar and salt and bring to boil
  7. Let the curry sauce simmer for 2-3 minutes
  8. Add milk / half-and-half and bring it back to boil and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, regularly stirring it
  9. Add the cooked pasta and vegetable in the sauce and serve hot

Serves: 4

Inspiration source:

Inspired by Curry Pasta that we had at Hell Pizza in New Zealand!

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Creamy One-Pot Pasta

December 29, 2011 – 7:02 pm

creamy one-pot pastaIngredients:

  • 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated
  • 5 oz oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/2 lb penne pasta
  • 1 head broccoli
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 1/2 lb mushrooms
  • 1 vegetable stock cube (such as by Knorr)
  • 1/2 cup full-cream milk
  • 2 oz reduced-fat cream cheese or any other cooking cheese
  • 2 oz Grated fresh parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • Salt not necessary as the stock cube will provide the needed saltiness

Method:

  1. Cook the pasta to desired level of softness and keep aside
  2. Cut broccoli into small florets, carrots into thin strips and slice mushrooms
  3. Drain sub-dried tomatoes, pat dry and slice into thin strips
  4. Cut cheese into small pieces
  5. Thinly slice garlic and stir-fry with 1 tsp of oil from sun-dried tomatoes for 1 minute, till golden brown
  6. Add the vegetables and vegetable cube and stir-fry for 3 minutes
  7. Add milk, cheese and sun-dried tomatoes and bring to boil and cook for 2-4 minutes, till vegetables are tender
  8. Add cooked pasta, parmesan cheese, black pepper and stir and serve immediately

Inspiration Source:

www.PamperedChef.com

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