One of my favorite meals to cook for the family is pasta. It’s relatively cheap, easy to make, and can easily serve a handful of people. If you haven’t had much experience in making something other than spaghetti, then you might very well be missing out on a potential favorite dish! This article features a few great pasta recipes that both the cooking novice and pro can accomplish and appreciate. They’re oh-so-tasty and I hope you enjoy them!
Easy Pasta with Garden Vegetables and Fresh Basil Recipe
3 large garlic cloves, chopped 1 sweet onion cut 1/2 inch chunks 2 shallots, diced 1/2 each green, red, yellow pepper cut 1/2 inch chunks 2 large tomatoes cut in chunks 25 snow peas cut in half 10 basil leaves, rolled and diced 500 ml whipping cream White wine Rotini pasta or your favorite pasta Parmesan cheese Salt and pepper to taste
Peel the shell off of the shrimp and remove tail-shell also. Place shells in the smallest pot you have “preferably a nonreactive pot like stainless steel”. Press and crunch the shells down a little. If you don’t crunch them down in the pan then you will have too much liquid in the pan. Crunching the shells down also releases the flavor. BE CAREFUL not to cut yourself on the shells! I use the bottom of a plastic drinking glass to crunch the shells down in the pan. Cover the shells with barely enough cold water to cover. Bring the shrimp pot to a medium boil and then immediately turn it down on very low and simmer for 10 minutes, stir the shells up a few times while simmering. Cook NO more than 10 minutes because the fresh flavor will be cooked off if you do. Strain off the shrimp liquid, discard the shells. Keep liquid aside for the dish.
Using several different dyes in your pasta helps to make the process much easier. By changing the dyes, you can swiftly go from making spaghetti to macaroni, from linguini to angel hair, and so on. Small pasta machines are available that allow you to just roll over your sheet of dough to make the noodles, and also larger, more expensive machines are available that require less effort and make the job even easier. Most pasta machines involve a sort of feeder mechanism where you deposit the dough, then crank the handle for the noodles to be produced on the other end.
Slowly add the warm milk, stirring constantly, until well blended. Add the cheese and Tabasco and continue stirring until the cheese is melted and the whole mixture is smooth and thick. Place the macaroni in a deep oven-proof casserole. Pour the cheese mixture over and fold in. Place in a 400 degree F. oven for 20 minutes until hot through and browned on top.
In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the garlic and saute’ for 1-2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook uncovered over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water.
Drain. Add the basil and parsley to the sauce. Stir well. Place the pasta in a serving bowl. Toss with the sauce and season to taste. Sprinkle with cheese. Serves 4.