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.

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.