Posts tagged as:

pasta

Six Cheese Mac and Cheese

June 15, 2009

Baked mac and cheese

Six cheese macaroni does sound over the top. But you’d do this too if getting your hands on some good cheese was as big an event for you as it was for me. This past week, I stumbled upon a variety of cheeses at my local supermarket. A dull day suddenly became a lot more exciting as I kept throwing in slab after slab of cheese into my cart. Soon enough I began thinking of all the ways I’d use my cheese. Cheddar biscuits had been on my mind so I got down to making them first. A good mac and cheese was on my list next.

Rigatoni pasta

Cheese and cheese sauce

Of course I didn’t start with six cheeses in my mind. When I began thinking about how I’d make my mac and cheese, a three cheese pasta was where my heart was first. But as I put together all my cheese on the table, I realised I could be a wee bit dramatic and instead make a six cheese mac. Just thinking about this, made me a happy, happy girl. I made a sauce that would combine my favourite cheeses and be tossed with some rigatoni and baked until golden with a sage, breadcrumb parmesan crust.

Mac and cheese and sauted veggies

Six Cheese Mac and Cheese
Serves 4 hungry people

Pasta:
250g dried pasta (elbow macaroni/penne/rigatoni)
Salt
Water

Cheese sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp chilli flakes/red chilli powder
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups/500ml Cups milk
1oz/25g Blue cheese (you could use more, I ran out of it)
10z/50g Goat’s cheese (mine had added herbs)
2oz./50g Smoked gouda
2oz./50g Colby cheddar
20z./50g Sharp cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

Sage, toasted breadcrumb and parmesan crust:
2 oz./50g Parmesan
½ cup Bread crumbs, lightly toasted for 1-2 minutes.(sometimes, I add 1 tbsp butter)
5-6 sage leaves, chopped (you can sub it with your fave herb as well)

  1. In a large pot, boil the pasta till just about done or al dente. Drain. Set aside.
  2. In a saucepan heat the 2 tbsp of the oil and then saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic. Continue to saute until the onions are translucent, 2 more minutes.
  3. Add in the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and add in the flour and stir till all the oil has been absorbed.
  4. Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until all the milk has been incorporated and the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes.
  5. Stir in the cheeses until uniformly blended.
  6. Toss the pasta in the cheese sauce and add salt and pepper as desired.
  7. Toss the parmesan, sage and breadcrumb together for the crust topping.
  8. Transfer this to a buttered5″x3″ glass baking dish or a gratin dish and top it with the bread crumb mixture.
  9. Bake it in a preheated oven at 375F/190C for 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown in colour.
  10. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.

{ 23 comments }

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

January 20, 2009

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I’ve been on a sugar high of late and I’m slowly, but surely realising that this is not a very good thing. Although I keep telling my mum that I will be a more conscious eater once I hit the 25 mark, I know that starting sooner could only hold me in good stead. To move forth in this direction I cooked up some with grilled chicken and vegetable pasta, using very little oil and that too extra virgin olive oil.

Pasta with cream is not the ideal light food, but then I used only a few spoonfuls and lots of vegetables!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pasta

Yield: 4 servings

250g dried durum wheat pasta, boiled according to package instructions
300g tomatoes
A few sun dried tomatoes, chopped up
250g, baby aubergines, sliced
A splash of balsamic
300g chicken, boneless
5 tbsp cream (3 for marinating the chicken and 2 for the pasta)
1 onion, chopped coarsely
3 tbsp parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil, a little at a time as required
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Parmesan shavings, more for the table

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For the chicken:

  • Poke the chicken with a fork, rub it with sea salt and then add 3 tbsp cream. Let it sit for an hour on the counter top or in the fridge overnight.
  • Next, heat the pan or a ridged grill pan if you have one (not necessary, but I *love* the beautiful lines that appear) and add a little oil. Place the chicken in the pan. Do not keep turning – let it cook through for a few minutes.This keeps the chicken moist and will help achieve uniform, distinct lines when using a grill pan. Let it cook for a few more minutes, until it’s not pink anymore.
  • Remove from heat, and then slice the chicken into bite sized pieces or strips. Reserve for later.

For the vegetables:
Tomato: Peel (you have an aversion for skins like me) and deseed the the tomatoes and grill them until slightly tender, but still hold shape.

Aubergine: Wash the sliced aubergine with salt – I think I do this because gramma said it helps get rid of the bitter flavour that exists sometime. In a grill pan, heat a little oil and spread the sliced aubergine to cook. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Once both are done, reserve for later.

Finally, for putting it all together:

  • In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp oil and add the chopped onion. Let it cook till it’s translucent.
  • Add the reserved chicken and vegetables and the pasta and toss everything together.
  • Sprinkle the chopped parsley. Season to taste. And serve with Parmesan shavings!

And that’s how you get yourself a healthy meal! My lil’ sis polished off her plate of pasta although she’s not an aubergine fan.

{ 25 comments }

Three Pepper Spaghetti Carbonara

December 5, 2008

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I’ve got to admit, I have a fear of raw eggs. Actually, fear is an understatement; it’s more like paranoia. And that it why it took me a lot of reading up to finally make some Spaghetti Carbonara. Right now Carbonara veterans and lovers probably think I’m crazy, and will tell me that the eggs get cooked in the heat from the spaghetti. Thinking rationally – Duh, of course it would! However, to me it just didn’t *feel* right. That was until the day I made some Spaghetti Carbonara of my own.

After hearing good things about this dish and sneaking a bite from a friend’s place at a restaurant, I thought it was high time I gave it a shot. And once I did, I realised how very simple it is to prepare and yet so delicious. Given the time spent in preparing it, the returns are HUGE!

I set out to make spaghetti with a mix of black peppercorn, pink peppercorn (yes, PINK!) and Sichuan peppercorns, which my friend got me all the way from McLeod Ganj!

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Spaghetti Carbonara
Yield : 2 servings

250g spaghetti
Water for boiling the spaghetti
Salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
100g bacon, cubed -I used chicken bacon for that’s my only option.
2 raw egg*, beaten
2 tbsp mixed peppers (pink peppercorn, black peppercorn, Sichuan peppercorn), ground together
50g Parmesan/Grana Padano or any hard cheese, grated
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Salt

* A lot of the recipes call for yolks only, I almost always end up throwing away the white, so I thought I ‘d rather use up the entire thing – a good decision!

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  1. 1. Bring the water to the boil. Add the salt and drop the dried spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions / al dente. While the pasta boils, continue with the next step.
    Deviating here a bit, but do you add oil to your pasta water? I used to but now I don’t. For if the oil floats on top then how will it ever keep the pasta from sticking?
  2. In a Ducth oven (more space to toss the pasta, therefore more convenient) heat the olive oil and add the minced garlic. Let it soften a bit. Add the chopped onions and continue to sauté until it has softened. Add the cubes of bacon and let it cook until it’s golden on the edges and the onions are pink. Do not let the onions brown.
  3. Drain the pasta and toss it into the Dutch oven. Mix well to coat evenly with the onions and olive oil. If at all the pasta looks dry, add a splash of extra virgin olive oil to it. Turn off the heat. Now what’s left is the addition of eggs.
    Tip: Add the salt and the peppers to beaten eggs for it to spread evenly. However, keep in mind that both, the bacon and cheese will add a touch of salt.
    What I was thinking in my head at this point: Would the eggs cook? Would I be having spaghetti with a raw egg sauce? *eek*
  4. Now is when you add the beaten eggs. And with all your might just STIR, STIR, STIR. And stir a bit more. And a bit more. Okay, you’re done. :)
  5. Next, add the grated cheese and cover it for a minute or so for all the beautiful fragrances to sit together.
  6. Sprinkle over some cilantro, more pepper and cheese and serve. Yum yum yum!
    Tip: If you think you’re behind time with the sautéing, and the pasta is almost (almost, and not completely) done, turn off the head and let it sit in water. Drain it when required so the spaghetti is still hot.

This was delicious. How can I be absolutely sure? Fussy little sister wiped the plate clean. Well almost.

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{ 28 comments }

I’m loving lasagna!

December 18, 2007

I finally got kicked off my POA for this month. I should have spaced out the items for the month, but looks like it’s going to be a marathon of a sort. I still haven’t begun my Daring Baker Challenge for the month and each passing day is only making me more nervous.
Last week I made Lasagna. I referred the recipe from Allrecipes – this recipe received excellent ratings. I learned a lot about how I could improve the dish by going through the review (that’s what I love about Allrecipes; you can expect how a dish is going to turn out). I made a couple of modifications to it, or actually a lot of modifications to it to suit my taste.

Mutton Lasagna

* 8 big tomatoes
* 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
* 1 cup finely chopped onion
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 4 green chillies, chopped
* 350 pound mutton mince
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1/2 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
* 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
* 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
* 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
* 12 lasagna noodles
* 400g cottage cheese (paneer)
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg
* 1/2 cup sliced black olives.
* 200 grams mozzarella cheese, sliced
* Parmesan cheese, to sprinkle

  1. Peel,deseed and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Set half of it aside. Make a paste using the rest.

  2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add to it onion, garlic, green chillies, Italian seasoning and the mutton. Saute till it has browned slightly. Add the tomato paste as well as the chopped tomatoes, salt and sugar. Season with basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, pepper and parsley. Let it simmer covered for 45 minutes.
  3. Prepare the lasagna according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water after it is ready. To prevent them from sticking to each other and to retain moisture, brush them with olive oil.
  4. Grate the paneer and add to it the nutmeg powder.
  5. To assemble, spread 4 sheet of at the bottom of a 9×12 inch baking dish. Spread with one half of the paneer. Spoon over it half the meat sauce. Top with half the olives. Lay the next 4 lasagna sheets and repeat the procedure. Finally top with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil to prevent the cheese last 4 lasagna sheets, lay the mozzarella slices, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cover with foil to prevent it from browning too soon. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
While it was baking, the fragrance of the mutton and basil enveloped the apartment and I knew my experiment was a success!

Just a while ago, I took a trivia quiz about lasagna, and got 9 out 10 answers correct! You can take this quiz at Sploofus- It’s a lot of fun!

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