Meaty pasta

Old pasta with a new perspective

This pasta is a combination of a much tried and tested creamy tomato pasta that I make often, along with some tricks from Sandhya's winning meaty pasta. It seemed like a logical and sinful add on for my basic pasta recipe, so I decided to be brave and give it a go. And it turned out brilliantly.

I dont have an oven, which is what prompted me to combine an old recipe with Sandhya's, which involves one round of baking. But for those of you who have an oven, I would advise you to go ahead and give Sandhya's recipe a go. It sounds so yummy!

What I used:
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium onions
5-6 pods of garlic
400 gms minced meat, I used chicken kheema
1 packet of tomato puree
Olive oil
A knob of butter
A dash of wine
Seasoning: salt, lots of pepper, lots of basil (dry or fresh), some thyme, some oregano, some sugar
Cream
Grated cheese
Pasta

How I made it:
You could look over my basic creamy tomato pasta recipe before you begin this, if you like. Because I havent covered each step with a picture this time around. I decided to be brave and go with the flow this time.

Begin by getting all your chopping done :)

Melt some butter and add some olive oil in a deep pan. Throw in the chopped garlic and onion and saute well. Very few smells transport me to another world like the smell of freshly chopped onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil and butter. To call it heavenly would not be an understatement methinks.

Next add in the minced meat and stir around. If youre using chicken, it tends to cook pretty fast, so keep stirring to keep it from sticking.

Add in the tomatoes next, followed by a whole packet of tomato puree.

Next in, a dash of wine. Sandhya uses white wine in hers, but I had some red, and Iv seen Smitten Kitchen recommend it many times in her tomato-based pasta. So I decided to be brave.

The next thing to do is be brave, cover the sauce and let it simmer. The longer the better. I let my sauce be for a good long 45 minutes, opening it occasionally only just to get a whiff and stir it around. Let it bubble away and meld in its awesomeness.

45 minutes later, I opened up the lid and faced a serious tomato-attack. But I decided to be brave and forge ahead, by adding in some herbs. And because my super market didnt have any fancy herbs, I settled for this shady "Tushraj Oregano". This experiment was really all about being brave and going with the flow.

Next up, some cream. As much as your bravery allows you to dunk in. I put in about quarter carton, around 50 ml. And then grate in some yummy meltable cheese. As much as your bravery allows you to. And I dont have pictures to show you how brave I was because my hands were too messy amidst all the cream pouring and cheese grating.

But once it was plated up, I was too hungry to stop and take pictures. I just had to have a go.

The husband and I both devoured our dinner in no time. The quantities were just right, and the cream and cheese makes it filling enough not to even want seconds. For some veggie factor, I put together a pretty decent salad with tomatoes, bell peppers and fresh corn, with a dressing of Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a tiny bit of herbs. It was perfect, if I may say so myself. Being brave has its advantages. And this experiment was proof of that.