Pasta Bake

Everyone has a different pasta bake recipe. I tumbled upon mine by combining two recipes watched on TV. If truth be told, this recipe was a result of confusion – one of those stories with happy endings. After a few iterations, pasta bake has become one of my camouflage dishes. You can add in any vegetable, steamed and mashed of course to evade detection. My kids love it and it doesn’t take too much effort to cook, what more could a mother want. I love it too; it’s a shame that S doesn’t like pasta. This is what he is missing……..
My troops are an undisciplined lot and could not wait until their Commander took a picture

• Pasta – 200 gms
• Cheese grated – 150 gms (this can be adjusted to taste)
• Basil leaves – chopped

Optional Garnish

· Cooked Tuna steaks – 50 gms

· Cooked Prawns - 6

White Sauce

· Flour – 1 Tbsp

· Butter or Olive oil – 2 Tbsp

· Milk – ½ cup

· Grated cheese – 1 handful (optional)

Vegetable sauce

· Carrots – 2

· Potato – 1

· Any combination vegetables can be used although I stay away from cauliflower and cabbage

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. For the white sauce, melt the butter in the pan and add the flour. Mix the flour and the butter and combine it well. Start adding milk in spoonfuls and keep mixing. When the milk is combined well with the flour mixture add some more. Continue the process add milk-keep stirring to avoid lumps. When you have finished with the milk add the cheese. Stir it only in one direction (not both ways), it has some thing to do with the proteins in the cheese. The white sauce is done when the cheese is melted. The consistency of the sauce is a little thicker than single cream.

If you are one of those lucky parents whose kids eat veggies or don’t have kids then you don’t have to make the sauce, just steam the vegetables you want to use.

If you are like me then steam the vegetables and puree it in a blender. Now for the assembling bit – Place the pasta in a baking bowl and add the white sauce, vegetable sauce/or vegetables and then add the optional garnish. You don’t have to add the fish, I do, just to further the temptation for my children who happen to love fish and prawns. Alternately you could add cooked chicken or anything your heart desires. Mix them all thoroughly and cover with grated cheese. My choice of cheese is Mild cheddar (kid friendly), but Parmesan would go well too. Add the chopped basil on top and bake it for 20 mins at 200 C in a preheated oven. The basil crisps up during the baking process and needless to say is delicious. Go on give it a try, you will not regret it. Although I have presented it as a kiddie recipe, it is equally good for adults. Perfect food to enjoy on the sofa before the TV.

Pasta with Vegetable Sauce

My older son does not like vegetables and can make my life difficult by refusing to touch anything that has vegetable. Well that is a rather blunt statement that many mothers would concur with. It is a constant quest of mine to find techniques to camouflage vegetables and make it look edible for a 6 year old. The idea for this was formed after watching a program in BBC about food. This dish is a tried and trusted recipe that works with my kids and the best part is my son loves it. They look forward for 'Pasta Days' which is generally on Thursday. Mind you, he doesn't know what goes in it though. So all the mothers out there, here is stress free veggie route.

You will need

Pasta - 3 handfuls
For the Sauce
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Mixed Vegetables - 1 lb
Garlic - 2 cloves

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. I prefer Penne pasta as it can take in more sauce.
For the sauce steam the mixed vegetables. The ones I use mostly are beans, carrots and peas. However over the last year, I started using seasonal vegetables and had success with courgettes, butternut squash, celery, pumpkin, potatoes, peppers and broccoli (yes, you read that right, cauliflower however is not suitable).
Heat a spoon of oil in the pan and add the chopped onions, garlic and tomatoes. Once they are soft and cooked add the steamed vegetables and mix it for few minutes. Let the vegetables cool and use a blender to grind them into a smooth sauce.
Serve the pasta with sauce. The sauce is delicious. For the senior troops, I spice it up with some chilli powder and serve it as a chutney for Idli and Dosai.

Linguine with Chilli Prawns

India won the 20-20 world cup and what can be a better occasion for a celebration dinner!

We had gone to the birthday party of a dear friend’s and had a great celebration dinner, so was in a mood for something non Indian but still special today. Thinking about specials, I landed up on this recipe.

Cooking pasta is always a bit of flinch for me, mainly because S does not appreciate it and the kids love it. Weird as it may sound, he really doesn’t. To try and reach a compromise I have resorted to the versatile Linguine. The sauces are not heavy and easy to cook.

You will need

1. Linguine – 4 bunch ( about 250 gms. I use hand measure, 1 handful per person).
2. Chilli – 4
3. Garlic – 3 cloves
4. Lemon juice – 2 Tbsp
5. Prawns – 16 (4 each)
6. Roasted pepper (capsicum) – 1 (Roast the pepper on a gas flame, remove the skin and chop)
7. Tomatoes – 2 quartered
8. Coriander leaves – a handful
9. Salt and pepper for seasoning

Basic Recipe Courtesy Good Food magazine October 2002

Cook the linguine according to the packet instructions and drain. Add some butter or olive oil to the linguine.

For the sauce, chop the chillies and garlic. Heat 2 tbsp of Olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and chilli. After 30 seconds add the tomatoes and roasted pepper. Add the prawns and cook till they turn pink. To make life easier, I use frozen cooked prawns. Add salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice and adjust seasoning according to taste and add the coriander leaves. Toss the cooked and drained linguine in the sauce. Scoop into a bowl and enjoy.