Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Pasta in Red Sauce


While shopping at Hypercity I came across section of international food and I saw packet of various pastas. Till now, I have cooked only 'ready to make pasta'. So I picked whole wheat fussili (I am always confused between 'rotini' and  'fussili') and tried this home-made pasta.


Ingredients :

Pasta Cooking :
1 cup Whole wheat pasta [I used Fussili]
2 tspns salt
5-6 cups boiling water

To make red sauce :
6 medium sized tomatoes
1/4 green capsicum chopped in squares
1/4 red bell pepper chopped in squares
1/4 yellow bell pepper chopped in squares
6-8 blanched broccoli florets
1 finely chopped large sized onion
1 tbspn vegetable oil and 2 tbspns butter  (Or 3 tbspns olive oil)
3-4 garlic cloves - finely choped
1/2 tspn oregano
1/2 tspn black pepper powder (I used fresh green pepper)
1 tspn mix herbs
2-3 tbspns tomato ketchup
7-8 finely chopped basil leaves
Salt to taste

For Garnishing :
Grated parmesan cheese

Preparation :

To cook pasta :
Heat 5-6 cups water in a deep pan
Add 2 tspns salt into the boiling water
Add pasta in the boiling water
Cook till it is soft
Drain out the water from pasta
Pour cold water over it so that cooking process is stopped
(Drizzle some oil over it if you feel that it is becoming sticky)
Set it aside

To make tomato puree :
Heat 8-10 cups of water in a deep vessel
Give a small prick to tomatoes and put them into boiling water
Let it boil in hot water for 4-5 minutes
Remove it from hot water and immediately pour cold water over the tomatoes
Now remove the skin of tomaotes
Take two tomatoes and cut it into pieces
Blend the balance tomatoes into puree

To make pasta red sauce :
Heat oil in a pan
Once oil is heated add chopped garlic and  chopped onions
Cook for 2 minutes
Then add chopped blanched tomatoes
Saute it for a minute on high flame
Lower the flame and add green capsicum pieces
Cook it for 3-4 minutes on medium flame
Then add tomato puree into the mixture
Add Mix herbs,  Oregano, fresh green pepper, basil leaves, tomato ketchup and salt
Also add blanched broccoli, yellow and red bell peppers to the sauce
Mix it well and cook for further 2 minutes
Then add cooked pasta into it
Coat pasta with the sauce
Top it with grated parmesan cheese
Serve hot


Notes :

1. While cooking pasta, the instructions given on packet should also be considered and modify the process of cooking given here should be modified to that extent.
2. The green capsicum should not be overcooked.
3. Pasta should be served with Garlic bread and / or fresh vegetable salad
4. In my opinion cheese should be avoided in red pasta, as it takes away the tangy taste.

Stepwise Pictures :






























7 comments:

  1. Pasta is looking very very tasty......inviting pics....and interesting recipe...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wrong way of cooking pasta. Never pour water on it. It removes the starch and sauce will not stick to it. I used to make this mistake learnt it latter and the final product tastes much better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Pranathi for the feedback. I will ensure the same in future.

      Delete

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