Till about a year ago Pasta used to be my go to meal whenever I was in need for a quick fix dinner. However, about a year ago something changed and I totally started disliking Pasta. I couldn't stand the texture of the noodles, the taste of the sauces the boiling of noodles in big pots. Any thing at all!!!
So I totally stopped making or eating pasta, whether it was at home or at a restaurants - fine or not.
And then, a few weeks ago a visit to Costco brought me face to face with something interesting - Quinoa Pasta. The first ingredient was Quinoa and the rest were some more whole grains. The curious chef in me made me pick up a packet to see how it came out.
However, for a long time the packet sat in my pantry waiting to be used. My nausea towards pasta was not allowing me to open the packet and create something interesting out of it. And then I saw a recipe on Indian Food Network called Food Food that suddenly came as an inspiration.
The recipe was a One Pot Pasta recipe which looked very interesting. Of course, I do not remember the original recipe, but the "One Pot" thing was certainly something very different. Here is my take on technique. My son's was playing with his friends and all of them couldn't resist the aroma's in the kitchen and came upstairs all hungry and ready to gobble. They all asked for seconds which actually was a confirmation that they liked the pasta.
As for me, I loved how the recipe turned out and now I can never go back to making pasta the old style. The Quinoa noodles have a very nice texture, different from the regular whole wheat and suddenly Pasta has returned to my dinner table as a regular member :)
Enjoy!!!
Ingredients
Pasta - 2 cups (I used Penne)
Oil - 11/2 tbspn
Chopped Kale - 2 cups
Asparagus - 8-10 sprigs cut into 2 inch pieces
Sliced Onion - 1
Chopped Garlic - 2- 3 cloves
Diced Tomatoes - 1 - 2 cups
Grated Cheese - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tspns
Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne Powder - 11/2 tspn
Table Cream - 2-3 tbspns (You can substitute this with milk if you prefer)
Dried Italian Herbs - 2 tspns
Sugar - 3 tspns
Salt to taste
Water - 1 -11/2 cup
Directions
Heat the oil in a pot big enough to hold the veges and pasta
Saute the onions in the oil
Next saute the Kale and cover and let the kale cook for a minute
Now add the asparagus - saute and cover for a minute to cook
Add the tomatoes and Garlic and cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes
Next add the Pasta, Cayenne Powder, Italian Herbs, Salt, Sugar and Salt
Mix thoroughly
Add the cream and about one to one and a half cup of water depending on how thick you like your sauce and also on how juicy are your tomatoes
Cover, reduce the heat to medium and let the pasta cook for 7-8 minutes
Check the pasta for Al dent`e
Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top
Serve hot
So I totally stopped making or eating pasta, whether it was at home or at a restaurants - fine or not.
And then, a few weeks ago a visit to Costco brought me face to face with something interesting - Quinoa Pasta. The first ingredient was Quinoa and the rest were some more whole grains. The curious chef in me made me pick up a packet to see how it came out.
However, for a long time the packet sat in my pantry waiting to be used. My nausea towards pasta was not allowing me to open the packet and create something interesting out of it. And then I saw a recipe on Indian Food Network called Food Food that suddenly came as an inspiration.
The recipe was a One Pot Pasta recipe which looked very interesting. Of course, I do not remember the original recipe, but the "One Pot" thing was certainly something very different. Here is my take on technique. My son's was playing with his friends and all of them couldn't resist the aroma's in the kitchen and came upstairs all hungry and ready to gobble. They all asked for seconds which actually was a confirmation that they liked the pasta.
As for me, I loved how the recipe turned out and now I can never go back to making pasta the old style. The Quinoa noodles have a very nice texture, different from the regular whole wheat and suddenly Pasta has returned to my dinner table as a regular member :)
Enjoy!!!
Ingredients
Pasta - 2 cups (I used Penne)
Oil - 11/2 tbspn
Chopped Kale - 2 cups
Asparagus - 8-10 sprigs cut into 2 inch pieces
Sliced Onion - 1
Chopped Garlic - 2- 3 cloves
Diced Tomatoes - 1 - 2 cups
Grated Cheese - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tspns
Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne Powder - 11/2 tspn
Table Cream - 2-3 tbspns (You can substitute this with milk if you prefer)
Dried Italian Herbs - 2 tspns
Sugar - 3 tspns
Salt to taste
Water - 1 -11/2 cup
Directions
Heat the oil in a pot big enough to hold the veges and pasta
Saute the onions in the oil
Next saute the Kale and cover and let the kale cook for a minute
Now add the asparagus - saute and cover for a minute to cook
Add the tomatoes and Garlic and cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes
Next add the Pasta, Cayenne Powder, Italian Herbs, Salt, Sugar and Salt
Mix thoroughly
Add the cream and about one to one and a half cup of water depending on how thick you like your sauce and also on how juicy are your tomatoes
Cover, reduce the heat to medium and let the pasta cook for 7-8 minutes
Check the pasta for Al dent`e
Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top
Serve hot
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