pasta with creamy pesto

I have seen some establishments charge an upward of RM20 a plate for this shit. Well, this is how you do it for free (not technically free though, you still have to buy the ingredients).

Serving: 2 persons

Pasta (long type such as spaghetti, linguine or short one such as penne)

Half an onion, diced

Cooking cream

Pesto (store-bought at between RM11.90 to RM16.50, good luck if you wish to prepare it yourself though)

Shrimp

Mushroom (optional) (swiss-brown, shiitake, or white-button will do)

Tomato, diced

Two sticks of butter

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook your pasta to al dente (refer packet instruction for timing); drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sweat your onion until tender over low heat, about 2-3 minutes. Increase the heat, stir in garlic and butter, and cook for about a minute until butter melts. Pour in the cooking cream, season with salt and pepper, and simmer until it is slightly reduced, stirring constantly (about 4 minutes). Stir in pesto. Add shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until heated thoroughly. Toss with pasta and serve immediately.

spaghetti alla carbonara

The origin of carbonara sauce, as with most other recipes are obscure. Some believe the dish was first made as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers, Carbonari, (“charcoalmen”). Whatever the story, carbonara sauce is, to me, one of the basic sauce for pasta (besides alfredo, bolognese, and genovese). One must learn how to make pasta alla carbonara well in order to claim to understanding what Italian dishes are all about. Luscious and wonderfully indulgent, it takes as long to make as it does to cook the pasta.  The fundamental ingredients are simple, just spaghetti (or other long pasta), pancetta or bacon, eggs, Parmesan cheese, a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pancetta or bacon is substituted with streaky beef slices so the dish becomes pork-free. A silky sauce is created when the beaten eggs are tossed with the hot pasta and a little fat from the meat.

Serves 4

8 strips of streaky beef, sliced into small strip

3-4 whole eggs

1 cup grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

1 pound spaghetti pasta (or other type of long pasta, such as fettuccine)

Salt and black pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil

Cook the spaghetti to al dente. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the streaky beef and cook slowly until crispy. Once cooked, turn off the heat and put the beef into a large bowl.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and mix in about half of the Parmesan cheese. When the pasta is ready, drain and transfer into the bowl with the beef.  Move the pasta from the pot to the bowl quickly, as you want the pasta to be hot. It’s the heat of the pasta that will cook eggs sufficiently to create a creamy sauce. Toss everything to combine, then add the beaten eggs with cheese and toss quickly to combine once more. Season to taste, and serve at once with the rest of the parmesan.

pasta alla primavera

 

This Italian phrase, primavera [pree-muh-VEHR-uh]  means “spring style” and refers to the use of fresh vegetables (raw or blanched) as a garnish to various dishes. The origin of the dish is traced back to New York, where the chefs at Le Cirque restaurant came up with a riot of vegetation doused in butter, cream and lots of parmesan cheese. This version is a lightened and simplified rendition of this classic, but still captures the spirit of the 70’s and 80’s high style dining fashion. The dish may contain almost any kind of vegetable, but firm and crisp vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, peas, onions, and green bell peppers with tomatoes are the usual preference. Classic primavera sauce is based on a soffrito (the sweating of vegetables in low heat without browning) of garlic and olive oil and finished with Parmesan cheese. Further versions, such as this one is based on a heavier cream or Alfredo style sauce.

Serves 4

1/2 pound spaghetti

a small bunch broccoli, about 1 heaping cup of florets

1 small zucchini, diced

4 asparagus’ spears

1/2 cup snow peas/honey beans

3 minced garlic cloves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

a bunch of basil leaves, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup chicken/vegetable broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

a handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta to al dente. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it well. It should taste like the sea. In the meantime, fill a large bowl with ice water to prepare the waterbath.  Boil the broccoli for 1 minute. Add the asparagus and boil another minute. Add the snow peas/honey beans and boil for 30 more seconds. Remove all the vegetables and plunge them into the ice water. Once they’re cool, drain in a colander.

If you want, you can boil your pasta in the same pot you boiled the vegetables in, or you can start over and boil new water. In a large saute pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat.  When the butter melts, add the garlic and zucchini and cook for a minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken/vegetable broth and turn the heat to high to bring it to a boil. Add the cream and toss in all the vegetables you boiled. Stir to combine. Turn the heat down until the cream-chicken broth mixture is just simmering, then add the parmesan cheese and stir again to combine. If the sauce seems too thick add some more of the broth.

As soon as the pasta is done, drain and transfer it into the sauce and stir to combine. Add the basil and season to taste. Serve immediately.

 

spaghetti and meatballs

Meatballs are fantastic! Meatballs are amazing! They’re easy, fast and simple. They’re so easy, that i always wondered why are there still people buying those frozen ready-made meatballs? I have two kids to tend to, and always reached home from work by the time the sun has gone down, yet i have time to make those wonderful meatballs everytime i felt like having them as dinner. They’re wonderful to have with simple tomato sauce, whether accompanied by chunks of bread or by pasta, they’re great with vegetable broth, or by having them as sandwiches. Their potential are endless, yet so simple – all you need is good quality minced meat.

For the meatballs

500g minced meat

1 large egg

1 large onion, finely chopped

50g of breadcrumbs/12 pieces of cream crackers

a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tomato sauce (serves 4)

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 cans of 400g chopped plum tomatoes

400g of spaghetti

a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

To make the meatballs: In a large mixing bowl, add the minced meat, chopped parsley, egg, the Parmesan cheese and a good pinch of salt and pepper. If you’re using the cream crackers, wrap the crackers in a clean towel and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands and add into the bowl. If you’re using the breadcrumbs instead, add them into the bowl. With clean hands scrunch and mix up well. If you feel the mixture is still to sticky and would not hold up shape, add some of the breadcrumbs until the mixture have a good consistency and can be shaped. Shape the meatballs into the size of golf balls (or bigger, depending on your preference, but not too big or it will be hard for them to cook properly) and then pat them down so they can evenly cook. Drizzle them with olive oil and jiggle them about so they all get coated. Put them on a plate, cover and place in the fridge until needed.

To make the tomato sauce: Put a large pan of salted water to boil. Heat a large sauce pan on a medium heat and add 2 lugs of olive oil. Add your onion to the pan and stir until softened and lightly golden. Then add your garlic, and as soon as they start to colour, add the tomatoes. Bring to the boil and season to taste. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and add a lug of olive oil and your meatballs. Stir them around and cook for 8–10 minutes until golden (check they’re cooked by opening one up – there should be no sign of pink). Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until the sauce thickens, around 20-30 minutes, then remove from the heat. Once the pasta is cooked, stir them to the tomato sauce, add the Parmesan cheese, correct the seasoning and serve immediately.