Warm Penne, Tomato and Olive Salad

If you want a salad that is hearty, healthy and colorful look no further than this page. Tomatoes and olives are a match made in heaven and in this dish they are combined with just pasta and olive oil, allowing their flavors to shine. I prefer to use black olives in this, cause the colur and taste compliment the dish much better than green olives. But go ahead and experiment. After all the pasta recipes with the heavy sauces, this is a welcome break to my stomach. There’s absolutely no guilt when I indulge in this one. Come to think of it, I have no guilt in indulging in food at all!

Warm Penne, Tomato and Olive Salad

Prep time: 20 mins

Serves: 4 as main course / 8 as salad

What you need:

5 ripe Tomatoes

12 Black Olives sliced

400 gms Penne

4 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp Oregano

1 Tbsp fresh Parsley

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste

What to do:

Cook the pasta in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water for 12-14 mins or until tender. Meanwhile roughly chop the ripe tomatoes. Finely chop the parsley. Drain the pasta thoroughly in a colander and return it to the clean pan. Toss with the olive oil, tomatoes, sliced olives and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley. Serve. So simple!

P.S. If you are unable to find ripe tomatoes, roast those you have to bring out their full flavor. Simply put the tomatoes in a roasting pan, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast at 190ºC for 20 mins. Allow to cool slightly, then mash roughly with a fork.

Double Banana Nut Bread

Well baking is really not my forte. Not that I suck at it, but I would never really attempt a 10 layer cake and expect to get it right. That’s what the patisseries’ are for right? That said, this Banana Bread recipe is extremely simple. Actually I am even willing to call it failsafe. Add to the fact that it lets you use up overripe bananas left over from overzealous shopping expeditions, well who’s complaining?? The basic Banana bread recipe remains the same and you can toss any dried fruits/ nuts into it to make it more interesting. I would suggest walnuts, almonds and raisins. Also for a yummy flavor you could add blueberries.. but solo. We don’t want a hodgepodge now do we? It’s a really dense bread, so it keeps moist for a long time. But it's never lasted beyond two days at my place… cause we eat it up!!

Double Banana Nut Bread

Recipe Courtesy: Shelley Albeluhn

Baking time: 60 mins

Serves: 8-12 / One 9X5 inch loaf

What you need:

2 cups All purpose Flour

2 med Eggs, beaten

2-3 mashed Overripe Bananas

¼ tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ cup Butter

¾ cup Brown Sugar

Handful of Raisins and Almonds (broken into small pieces)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in beaten eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Ready and Bready :)

P.S. It’s called Double Banana Nut Bread cause it’s got a pronounced Banana flavor compared to other breads. Yes, it’s actually a result of a very scientific survey. Sue me!

Spinach and Cottage Cheese Ravioli

There are some days when you say to yourself, “This is too easy and boring..Lets complicate life a bit.” Ok, no one really says that, but adding a little challenge to a mundane existence does spice things up! This kind of thinking also occurs in the beginning of the year when resolutions are made with hearts braver (or more foolish) than the rest of the saner months. So my challenge was to make ravioli – from scratch. Huh! Did I disappoint you? Maybe you thought I was going to Base Jump?? Well considering this is a food blog lets stick to my adventures in cooking. So here’s my Spinach and Cottage Cheese Ravioli, which really was a LABOUR of love. It took me a good 2 hours to make, cause I hand rolled the pasta. Of course you can be saner and just buy some and toss it into the pan… But where’s your sense of smug achievement? Happy New Year by the way. :)

Spinach and Cottage Cheese Ravioli

Cooking time: 2 hrs

Serves: 4

What you need:

Home Made Pasta:

1 ½ cup plain flour

2 med Eggs

2 Tbsp Oil

¼ tsp Salt

Filling:

1 Tbsp Oil

3 Garlic cloves

½ Onion

½ tsp Chili flakes

2 bunches fresh Spinach (blanch, drain and finely chop)

100 gms Cottage cheese

Sauce:

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Plain Flour

2-3 Tbsp Fresh Cream

1 cup Milk

100 gms Cheddar

¼ tsp Oregano and Parsley

¼ tsp Chili flakes

¼ tsp Salt

What to do:

Pasta: In a bowl sift flour with salt. Beat eggs with 1 tsp water add oil and mix. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to get a soft smooth dough. Keep covered for an hour to let the dough rise.

Filling: Heat oil, add minced garlic then chopped onion. Add chili flakes and sauté well. Add spinach let it wilt. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from fire and cool. Mix grated cottage cheese and keep aside.

Sauce: Heat butter, take off the heat and add flour. Mix well and return to fire to cook for a minute. Add ¾ th of the milk slowly and cook to get a smooth thick sauce. Add the cream, remaining milk and half of the grated cheddar cheese. Give one boil and keep aside.

Now, roll the dough into 2 thin sheets. Place filling 1 inch apart. Cover with second sheet. Press both sheets together properly. Cut it into squares and immediately toss into salted boiling water and cook for 3-4 mins. Remove and plate the ravioli, spoon the sauce over it and garnish with chilli flakes and herbs.

P.S. I licked my plate clean! :)