Pesto Pasta

I always used to think that pastas are very hard to make. Then I had this super tasty Pesto pasta in Goa and I decided to nail this Italian recipe. All thanks to my hubby for getting me the right recipe and I realized it is so easy to make this awesome dish.

Time taken: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti pasta
• Mushrooms - 5-6
• Olive oil
• Garlic cloves - 3
• Pesto sauce
• Basil
• Parmesan cheese
• Walnut
• Cashews
• Almonds
• Pepper seeds
• Salt
• Olive oil - 5-6 spoons

Preparation:

• Soak almonds and cashews in water for 2 hours. After 2 hours, drain out the water.
• Take a big cooking pan and boil water.
• Once water starts to boil, add 1 spoon of salt and 1 spoon olive oil.
• Slowly add the pasta into the pan, close it with a lid and cook in high flame for 10 mins.

• Grind all the ingredients mentioned for pesto sauce in a mixer grinder. Make a very fine paste.

• Once the pasta has cooked well, transfer it to a vessel and drain out the hot water and fill normal/ cold water. This will stop the pasta from getting cooked further.

• Keep the cooking pan back to medium flame and add 2 spoons of olive oil.
• Toss the chopped mushrooms and 3 garlic cloves and saute for 3 mins.

• Add the pesto sauce and stir till the pesto sauce turns dark green. This will take 2-3 mins.

• Drain out water from pasta and transfer it to the cooking pan. Mix well, close with a lid and cook for 2-3 mins.

• Pesto pasta is ready now!

You can make pesto sauce and store it in refrigerator so that you can make this quick and yummy pasta anytime.

Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese or Macaroni and cheese is a dish cooked in macaroni pasta and cheese. The dish is very popular in United States, United Kingdom, Australia and many other countries.

The steps involved are very simple and you can cook it while watching your favorite TV show. I have prepared mushroom mac and cheese with bread crumbs. Cooking time: 45 mins.

I owe this recipe to my husband :)

Ingredients:

• Macaroni pasta
• Mozarella cheese 
• Boiled milk - 2 cups
• Bread piece - 1
• Mushrooms - 5-6
• Butter/ Ghee
• Pepper powder
• Salt
• Maida/ All purpose flour - 6 spoons

Preparation:

• Boil water with 2 spoons salt and cook macaroni in the boiling water till its al dente (firm but not hard). This could take 10-15 mins depending on the macaroni you are using.
• Parallel to this, heat 3 spoons of butter/ ghee in a frying pan. 
• When it has melted, add 6 spoons of maida/ all purpose flour and saute for 2 mins. It should become dark yellow.

• Add boiled milk to this mix and stir well. There should not be any lumps. Continue to saute till the mixture becomes creamy and thick. Now turn off the flame.

• Add 1 spoon salt, 1 spoon pepper and a handful of cheese bites. Different types of cheese can be used here. I have used only mozarella cheese.
• Drain out hot water completely from cooked macaroni. Keep it in cold water to avoid further cooking.

• Add the macaroni (with no water) to the milk-cheese mixture and mix well.

• Stir well to mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
• Toss chopped mushrooms in 2 spoons of ghee/ butter for 2mins. You can use any vegetable of your choice.
• Toast the bread piece. 

• Take a baking/ oven bowl and transfer 3/4th of the mac and cheese.

• Now make a layer of tossed mushrooms.

• Add rest of the macaroni.

• Add some more cheese bites(generously).

• Crush the toasted bread to crumbs and add it on top of the mac and cheese.

• Lastly, keep the bowl for baking in an oven or microwave at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 mins. 
• Cheese should have melted completely by now and bread crumbs are brown in color.

Serve hot hot!