Marinara Sauce - My way

Have you ever had something that you knew was perfect your way? No matter what the textbooks, teachers, experts or even old aunties claimed? Well in my case, many things fall in this category including this Marinara sauce. Now this is not blind faith - it’s a belief system that has evolved over many painstaking trial and error sessions. It is also a result of the fact that international recipes sometimes call for ingredients that are not readily available here. Or plain and simple – you try to make the best of the ingredients that ARE available to you! If that means cutting open a packet of Dabur Tomato Puree in the final stages and finishing the sauce with some Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce – then so be it! The final results are a fantastically chunky sauce with a robust tomato and garlic flavor. Dress it with some good quality olive oil and you’ve beaten the store bought sauces 10-1. With odds like this, ‘my way’ seems a lot more comfortable than the highway no?

Penne a La Vodka

Featured on Foodgawker.com and Tastespotting.com on 24th Jan 2013

Featured on The Berry on 26th Feb 2013

 

I’m still detoxing after the excesses of December, but this dish needed to get made! I just got assigned an additional role at work and to add to that, we have a new boss. Changes, changes, changes – how I hate them! (Especially, when I’m not the one making them!) Since I’d sworn off alcohol atleast for a month (part of the detox plan), I needed to find an alternative. (And No, I can’t make the ‘special’ brownies). So I gave myself and my frazzled nerves some loving, in the form of Penne a la Vodka. It doesn’t count as cheating because technically, the alcohol content is supposed to burn off when you deglaze the pan with it. (It’s another story that when you’re off alcohol, even a whiff of it can send you into a happy place). Anyway, this is a classic recipe and loved the world over. It’s sophisticated enough to serve at a dinner party and comforting enough to take it to the couch with you. When you have the best of both worlds you don’t really question it…..ever!

P.S. In case anyone (after reading the above para) thinks I’m an alcohol addicted crazy person who’s headed down the path to rehab in a couple of years…rest assured I’m not! Though I might need anger management sooner than later! (Watch your back…)

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables

Featured in Foodgawker.com on 16th Oct 2012

Featured in Tastespotting.com on 21st Oct 2012

No matter how good my refrigerator is, I can’t store things forever. Especially fruits and vegetables. I don’t have the luxury of taking a lovely evening stroll to source my produce everyday, like the friendly aunty who lives across the street from me. I go to a hypermarket close by and bundle everything I can into the car and lug it home once a week. I know the hypermarket claims the produce is super fresh and challenges anyone to claim otherwise. But everyone knows that even the supposedly ‘fresh’ produce in supermarkets is already stashed in cold storage for weeks to help transport it intact. Now is this a rant on the troubles of city living or the hypocrisy of large corporations? No.

I just have a rule that once I buy something perishable from the market, I need to finish it within a week. In a perfect world, I would have planned the menu for the week in advance. I would have used up everything judiciously by the end of the week. I would have variety everyday and would eat healthy and balanced meals. Unfortunately we live in the real world. Sometimes we work late, sometimes we run out of gas, sometimes we go out for dinner and sometimes we just want to order in greasy Chinese. Towards the end of the week, when I open the fridge to grab some chocolate – the veggies are staring back at me. The guilt meter points to high. That’s when genius strikes and I rustle up something that can accommodate the weeks shopping list. Fortunately this time, they all lent themselves to a nice Roasted Vegetable sauce served with Pasta. Hallelujah! Because it looked and tasted so amazing, the co-resident thought I planned this, weeks in advance J

Baked Beans and Pasta Hot Pot

I am always trying out new recipes that I fish out of the internet or my gazillion new cookbooks. I almost forgot how much I love the good ole recipes of yore. No, I’m not talking about the medieval times, just rewinding to school. One of my first cookbooks was one that I stole from mom. The free cookbook that came along with the Preett Pressure Cooker! It had a ‘how to use a pressure cooker guide’ as well as ‘101 recipes from India and Elsewhere’. (with pictures!!) I was hooked. J I came across it, while cleaning my bookshelf last week. Yellowing, tattered along the edges, a few pages coming loose of the thread binding – but there it was, waiting to exhale. I picked it up gingerly and spent an hour reading it cover to cover. (Yes, I read cookbooks.. . how many times do I have to say it?). I zeroed in on the Baked Beans Pasta recipe. It was considered very international in those days. I know… we were easily impressed! But considering we found pasta (only macaroni mind you) and baked bean cans in Thoms or maybe Nilgiris on MG road, once in a blue moon – it was always a special dish. Honestly, I love this recipe from the bottom of my heart. It’s my little time machine to simpler days…

Baked Beans and Pasta Hot Pot

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

1 ½ cups uncooked Pasta

1 small tin Baked beans in Tomato Sauce

½ cup grated Cheese

2 Capsicums

3 Tomatoes

3 Onions

3-4 cloves Garlic

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Tbsp Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mixed herbs for flavor

What to do:

Slice onions and Capsicums into rings. Blanch tomatoes, peel and dice. Cook pasta according to the instructions on the packet, drain and keep aside. (Ensure you toss in some olive oil so that it doesn’t stick). Heat oil in a skillet, add butter. Toss in onion and capsicum and fry for a while. Remove a few and keep aside for decoration. Add crushed garlic, chopped tomato, chili powder and salt to taste. Allow to cook for a few mins. Add pasta, baked beans in tomato sauce and half the grated cheese. Toss in some mixed herbs for flavour. Mix well and heat through for 2 mins.

Grease an oven proof dish. Pour mixture in. Decorate with onion and capsicum rings. Sprinkle remaining cheese, dot with butter and bake for 15-20 mins in a moderately hot oven (180-190°C). Serve hot!

Penne with Bell Peppers Roman Style

I had two lovely yellow bell peppers in my fridge. After four days of racking my brains to come up with a mind blowing recipe, I chickened out. I could not see them go to waste for my lack of creative genius. Thanks to the gazillion cook books I own, (yes, I am cookbook cuckoo!) finding a recipe was a breeze. I would like you to believe that I put in considerable amount of effort picking and choosing just the right recipe, but the truth is I like a good gamble. So I closed my eyes and put my finger on the peppers list in the index! I give you here – Pasta with Peppers Roman Style. The Roman bit is because I had a crush on Julius Caesar. Ok, am playing with you now! Traditionally, tiny black wrinkled olives grown in the Lazio region of Italy are used in this roman dish. But I used Spanish olives. Oops! Don’t declare a war till you’ve tried it. iBuen Apetito!

Penne with Peppers Roman Style

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

1/3 cup Olive oil

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 cup Black Olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

400gms canned chopped Tomatoes, drained/ 500gms Tomatoes, blanched and chopped

2 Yellow/ Red Peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips

Salt and pepper

350gms dried Penne/ Fettucine

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve

What to do:

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins or until softened. Add the tomatoes, bell peppers and olives. Saute for 5 mins. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer over very low heat for 25 mins. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile bring a large heavy bottomed pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta return to a boil and cook according to instructions on the packet. Penne must be tender but with a bite. Drain ad transfer to a serving dish.

Spoon the sauce onto the pasta and toss well. Sprinkle generously with the parmesan and serve immediately, with extra grated parmesan.

Note: Green bell peppers are not recommended in this recipe as they are a little too sharp and do not provide enough contrast with the saltiness of the olives.

Vegetarian Spaghetti Alla Putanesca

The reason I’m calling this a vegetarian Spaghetti Alla Putanesca is because the original recipe calls for anchovy fillets and I haven’t used any! Come to think of it, I actually have consciously avoided any recipe that calls for the use of anchovy. I love fish, I really do.. But in the form of canned fillets which remind me of cat food by the way… I have avoided them. I’ll let you know when I pick up the nerve to try some, but till then this recipe will be what it is. It’s a really simple, tasty and speedy dish by the way, so don’t hesitate to try it.

Spaghetti Alla Putanesca (sans anchovies)

Cooking time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)

1/2 cup Black olives (pitted and chopped)
1 Tbsp Capers, drained and rinsed

1 kg tomatoes, peeled and chopped

Pinch of Cayenne pepper/ chilli powder
1 dried Red Chilli, torn into pieces

Salt

400 gms dried Spaghetti

2 Tbsp chopped fresh Parsley to garnish

What to do:

Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet. Add the garlic and cook over low heat stirring frequently for about 2 mins. Add the tomatoes and mash them with a fork. Sauté for a few minutes. Add the olives,chilli and capers and season to taste with the salt and cayenne pepper. Cover and let simmer for 25 mins. Meanwhile bring a large heavy bottomed pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8-10 mins. Drain and transfer to a serving dish. Spoon the sauce into the dish and toss to coat the spaghetti. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Simple!

Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce

So here’s THE sauce that I was talking about. It’s pretty much a fail safe recipe and so much more flavorful and satisfying than the store bought varieties. Also when there is an overload of tomatoes in the market which you bought home just because they looked “so nice and juicy”, I suggest putting them to good use in this recipe. This sauce recipe can be used in so many dishes that it’s great to have around. And it’s perfectly healthy!!!


Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce

What you need:
1 kg Tomatoes (pureed)
500 gms Blanched Tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 Large Onion, minced
6 cloves
1 teaspoons basil
1 Tbsp Rock salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

What to do:
In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Squash the blanched tomatoes with your hands in a bowl and toss into the pot. Saute for a 3-5 mins. Now add the puree. Season with the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20-30 mins. Check seasoning. Mamma Mia!

Aubergine Parmesana – fit for Royalty

Aubergines/ Eggplants are not the co-resident’s favorite vegetable. Forget favorite, it does not even feature in an “I like” list. So when I suggested I was going to make Aubergine Parmesana, the response was a turned up nose and a resigned sigh. Not an encouraging start! When I started frying the aubergine, there was a grunt of approval and finally when the dish popped out of the oven, he ate more than me. So I’ve copied this recipe to help you convert others, after all who can hate a vegetable which is the color of royalty – purple!


Aubergine Parmesana

What you need:
1 large/ 2 small Aubergines/ Eggplants
2 Med Eggs
Flour for dusting
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil for frying
2 cups Italian Tomato Sauce (Store/ Home made)
2 Garlic cloves
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
A few leaves of fresh Basil/ 2 Tbsp dried Basil
150 gms Mozzarella cheese (grated)
½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375F/ 190C. Start by salting and pressing the eggplant (aubergine). You need to do this several hours before you start the main part of the preparation. Cut the eggplant into ¼-inch slices, and arrange these on a large plate. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Place another plate on top, and then place something heavy on top of that. When you are ready to start cooking, wash the eggplant thoroughly and dry with a paper towel. Coat each slice with a little flour, dip in the beaten egg mixture (season with salt and pepper), and deep fry for a few minutes in the heated olive oil. Drain on paper towels.

Heat a tsp of oil and sauté the bruised Garlic cloves and red pepper flakes. Add the tomato sauce and heat through. Mix in the Basil. Keep aside.

Grease a medium baking pan with cooking spray. Put enough of the tomato sauce to coat pan. Next layer eggplant slices, a little bit of both cheeses and a little more tomato sauce. Repeat layers ending with a topping of both cheeses. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes Cook removing the lid about ten minutes before serving. Let it cool for 15 mins before serving.

P.S. Look out for my Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce recipe in my next post.

Spaghetti Friday

Mondays are strange days. You still haven't shaken the stupor of the weekend but you know there's loads of work to do.(sigh sigh..) Friday's on the other hand are full of energy. Somehow the thought that the next 48 hours can be spent outside the office is enough to put that zing in anyone's steps. So I headed home bouncing on a trampoline (well not literally), to whip up a quick but satisfying meal before catching a movie. There was a packet of Spaghetti and I was personally leaning towards a tomato based sauce but the co-resident/ husband wanted something cheesy. So the final outcome was Spaghetti in Creamy Tomato sauce with Olives. Its pretty much a throw everything in recipe, so go ahead and fine tune the quantities to suit your taste. Also I mostly cook for two (but the co-resident can easily eat for three), so my recipes serve 4 people. Well, in Indian homes we always make more than we need and feed people till they can't eat another morsel. So a little extra never hurt.. what say? Have fun with your Cooking..

Spaghetti with Olives in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

Serves 3-4

What you need:

350 gms Spaghetti

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

6 flakes Garlic (minced)

1 Med Size Onion (chopped)

1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes

20 Marinated Black/ Green Olives

1 tsp Flour

4 Tbsp Tomato Puree

2 Med Tomatoes (chopped)

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp Sugar

1/4 tsp dried/ 2 Tbsp Fresh Basil

1/4 cup Grated Cheese

1/2 cup milk

4 Tbsp Cream

What to do:

In a saucepan heat the Olive Oil and add Garlic and Onions. Saute till onions turn transluscent. Add chilli flakes and fry for a few seconds before adding the flour. Now fry for a minute. We're making a roux here, so that the sauce is of coating consistency. Add in the tomatoes and saute for a few minutes. The key is to smash them around so that they release all their yummy juices. Add the tomato puree now and cook for 2 mins. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. There's the tomato sauce, now to make it creamy we need to add in the milk, and grated cheese (Slowly, gently, dreamily ... ) and stir till all the ingredients look like they have become one happy family. Now take the pan off the stove. Toss in the olives and basil, mix in the cream (full fat is always yummy), but skip if you don't exercise.

Cook the spaghetti according to instructions on the packet (toss in some rock salt in the water). Drain and mix the spaghetti with the sauce and serve hot. Always cook the spagehtti just before serving otherwise it will go cold and sticky and won't mix with the sauce well.

Bon Appetit!