Quick Pasta

When it is midnight and you are hungry, you just grab whatever is on hand and make a quick snack. Or you put out pretty bowls and make a batch of quick and easy pasta. And trust me it always works. Thanks to the many imports into the country and the boom of online grocery shopping, we have come in touch with a lot of culinary inspirations that earlier were rare to be found. Also, the Indian palate has changed over the years. We no longer make do with gluggy pasta with lot of milk and cheese. Instead, there is parmesan to be sprinkled over, breadcrumbs to be added or a little mascarpone to be touched into the regular tomato sauce.
And thank God for that. I prefer a little garlic and chili sauteed in olive oil and spaghetti tossed through it and served with a cheese grated over the pasta. And in those hours of midnight, this little treat is all you need.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti as required
1 packet of mushroom chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
1tbsp red chilli flakes
1tbsp oregano
pinch of salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese grated as required
Olive Oil as required
Method:
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti as much as you require.
As the spaghetti cooks, heat olive oil. Fry garlic and red chili flakes.
Add mushrooms and fry. Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for ten minutes until the mushrooms is all out of its water. If you like you can add tomatoes and cook for ten minutes more.
Remove a cup of water from the boiling pasta. Drain spaghetti.
Add the pasta water to the pot. Adjust seasonings. Toss the spaghetti through the sauce.
Remove from heat and mix it all the way through. Portion into bowls and then add a little cheese on top.

Pepperoncino

This post will be long. Probably because of the long journey to the concerned place. And an increased use of paeans that this will entail.
The impulse to visiting this place came on a sunny afternoon. A few minutes out on the road led the author and her friend to discover that the day was the first day of the auto strike. So, no autos for miles on end and trust me the author traveled miles before a kindly cab driver took pity on them. Usually, the author is prone to crazy impulses, but this was a lot crazy even for her. I mean, you walk down five miles for an hour till the Secunderabad railway station in order to find a taxi. But, by then, it had become a matter of pride. So, all the way to Road no. 12, hoping that the food did not disappoint.
And, tell you what, it really did not.

When you step out of the elevator, the sight of its promotional board welcomes you. Slightly quirky, it sets a happy tone. The alfresco venue adds to it. The greenery around you is charming and when the wind turns, you can smell the mint planted around the edges of the terrace. A few minutes into sitting down, you realize that the music is low, lilting Italian. That makes a lot of difference.

The distance traversed equaled a very hungry stomach. So, the orders flied out fast. Picante pizza, Passionfruit Iced tea followed by Calabrese pasta for the vegetarian and the Pollo parmigiana for the carnivorous. Desserts - it was decided - would be ordered, if the appetizers or main course was not enough.
The best part of the meal, was the authentic tag attached to the place, is really true. The pizza is baked in a wood oven is soft yet crispy. The sauce is fresh as are the vegetables. Say goodbye to Dominos.

While the iced tea is slightly acidic, the main course more than enough makes up for it. The calabrese is spicy and fragrant. The parmigiana is well-cooked with a crispy crust. While the lettuce is slightly wilted, the roast potatoes served with it is just right - with a slight bite. You dig in and for a long time there is silence on the table - except, of course, the clinking of cutlery.

Perhaps because of the slight disappointment with the iced tea, I ordered a cappuccino. After all isn't that the traditional end to the meal. Oh wait, that is espresso. Still good enough. So, cappuccino, and after some deliberation, the panna cotta. And, oh my, oh my, that is the best ending to the meal. In fact, one of the best desserts I have tasted in a long while. The panna cotta is served with a coulis which provides the tart to the sweet, creaminess that the panna cotta represents.
The review has not indulged in paeans - yay - but it is heading there. And so I will stop. But, I will end with this - for a nice, fun brunch, lunch or dinner to fulfill your Italian cravings - do head there. And, if you have done so, please head over there again.

Location: Road no 10, Banjara Hills, opposite Ratnadeep Supermarket.
What to try: The pizzas, pasta calabrese, pollo parmigiana, pasta alfredo
Review: 3.9/5

Pasta with Three-cheese White Sauce

The first pasta dish I tasted was penne tossed with Bechamel  sauce and served with crispy garlic bread. It remains the most simple french sauces that I can make and recommend. The balance always remains to make it not too heavy or too thin or to not add too much cheese. Me, I add a little too much red chili flakes so that the spice buds kick right at the back of your throat. But, it is tasty.
The pasta in white sauce is a simple, easy dish - probably belongs to the eighties - but still hanging around the standard cafes and Italian restaurants in Indian metros and towns. However, on some days, you just want something really unhealthy and the joy of making something continental thus showing off your culinary repertoire. This particular pasta dish is rich and creamy with a slight technicality involved. It is probably better to make it once a month or two but works well for an evening of an extra special family dinner.

The trick to making a good bechamel is to use a whisk and follow the measurement guidelines of 1-tbsp butter to 1 tbsp flour to 1 cup milk. Then, you can experiment around with other flavors to find a one that becomes your signature dish. Sauteing minced garlic and shallots adds a nice flavor. Or you could add a range of herbs to the dish. So, go forth and explore.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups of flour
1 cup macaroni
1/2 cup penne
1 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp red chili flakes
3-4 tbsp cheese
salt
pepper
water for making pasta

Method:
Making pasta:
Put a pot of water to boil. Once the water starts bubbling, add a tbsp of salt and watch the water sizzle. Add the pasta. The macaroni will take around 5 minutes. The penne will take somewhere around 10-11 minutes.
Making bechamel:
As the pasta boils, heat a saucepan. Melt butter and add flour. Whisk rapidly to a smooth roux. Add the milk and whisk till everything dissolves into a smooth consistency. The color will change from white to slightly creamy.
Add oregano, red chili flakes, salt and pepper. This is the tricky part. You need to taste and then adjust the seasonings to your liking. Once, that is done, add the cheese and some of the pasta water. This will give the sauce a smoothness and a depth of flavor.
Drain the pasta and then toss with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Loveofmylife: Spot#4

Tuscana pasta with warm bread

Courtesy: Truffles Cafe

Red Accents

Sometimes you take some time. You go to certain websites and research for recipes. You go to the supermarket with the express purpose of getting the ingredients for the particular recipe that has caught your attention. And finally spend a lot of time creating the perfect dish [of the moment at least].
For me that was Spaghetti alla Marinara and to do it properly is a labor of love.
There is something about pasta that is simple yet so exotic - especially when swathed with a sauce of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. You wait for the tomatoes to stew properly until they fall apart. You add the dash of oregano at the right time so that the seasoning blends in perfectly.  Finally when you mix in the pasta everything around just clings to it and the whole room shimmers with the scents it exudes.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 entire bulb of garlic minced
2 tbsp chilli flakes
2 medium onions
1 bay leaf
1 small bell pepper
6 medium tomatoes chopped
1 can tomato puree
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 can mushroom
1 packet spaghetti
salt
pepper

Method:
Heat olive oil. Saute minced garlic. Add half of the chilli flakes and then mix it together.
Add the onions and bay. Cook till the onions brown for about 15 minutes.
Add the capsicum and cook for five more minutes.
This is the time when you add all the tomatoes. Simmer and let the tomatoes stew.
Dilute the tomato puree with a cup of water and then add to the pot. This cuts the overtly acidic taste of the puree leaving a more mellow flavor for the sauce.
Meanwhile boil of pot of water. Add salt to the boiling water and then add the pasta. This should take around ten-twelve minutes.
Take a cup of the boiling pasta water and mix the stock cube in it. Add this mix along with the can of mushrooms.
Sprinkle oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for ten minutes.
Add the pasta to the simmering sauce and fold in.
Divide portions of pasta in bowls and serve.