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.

Slow cooked tomato basil pasta

Quick-fix meal for when youre too lazy to really cook.

I know slow cooking and quick fix dont really go together, but even though this is a slow cooked dish, it makes for a quick fix meal because the recipe is just a series of acts in assembling the dish, rather than really cooking it. The cooking sort of just happens on its own.

This recipe was shared with me last week by Anand: friend, culinary partner in crime, inspiration and my biggest source of entertainment and company through my days in Goa. Anand visited us last week, a trip that was mostly prompted by the promise of much cooking. We didnt get to do all of what we had planned, but we did get up to some pretty fun kitchen shenanigans. This pasta was just one of the things ;)

It was also just what I needed today, when the flu has left me too tired to really cook and too sick to order in. I needed home cooked food. Even if it was slow cooked pasta. With just tomato and basil.

And a ton of cream and cheese to make it all worthwhile. But Im trying not to focus on that part.

Here's what I used:
1 large onion, chopped
7-8 pods of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 pack tomato puree
1 knob of butter
Olive oil
Some grated cheese (parmesan if youre feeling fancy, but cheddar will do if you want to make do with what you have in your fridge..like I did)
Basil (fresh would work wonder, but in the absence of fresh basil dry works just as well)
Fresh cream
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Pasta (I used fusilli, because its easy to eat)

Here's how I made it:
Heat up some butter and olive oil. Throw in the chopped garlic and onions and saute till nice and golden.

Next, add in the chopped tomato and stir around, and quickly add in the tomato puree.

Anand showed me how to get every last bit out of the carton, and it only made me realize just how much puree Iv possibly wasted in the last few months :O

Add in the salt, pepper and sugar as per taste. Sugar cuts the overtly tangy tomato-ness, leaving you with just the right smooth creamy silken tomato pulp you need.

Then, cover the pan and let the puree simmer for a good long while. At least 20-30 minutes, opening it only to give it a turn every now and then. This is where you can take a long break and come back only to throw in the last few ingredients in the assembly line.

It isnt called "slow cooked" for nothing. You'll notice that every time you take a peek at the puree when you take the lid off to stir it, the puree would have gotten thicker and darker.

Let it bubble away for as long as possible. In the meanwhile, get a pot of water on. Add some salt and bring it to a boil. Add in the pasta and let it cook. This usually takes anything from 7-10 minutes if youre using fusilli for 2.

After your pasta has cooked for about 10 minutes and your sauce has simmered away for about 30 minutes, turn the heat off on both.

Turn to your sauce, add in the grated cheese, basil and cream. And mix!

Drain the pasta, retaining some hot water. Just in case you want to loosen the sauce a little bit. The slow cooking tends to dry out the tomato puree quite a bit and the best way to bring it back to a looser consistency is to add hot water from cooking the pasta! Something else Anand taught me.

Mix together. And we're done.