Tag: Pasta

A tryst with Sicilia’s soul -PASTA!!

Did you know that over 600 pasta shapes are produced around the world?

Or that 2.75 million tons of pasta is made in Italy every year?

Or that to cook one billion pounds of pasta, you would need 2,021,452,000 gallons of water – enough to fill nearly 75,000 Olympic-size swimming pools (one billion pounds of pasta is about 212,595 miles of 16-ounce packages of spaghetti stacked end-to-end – enough to circle the earth’s equator nearly nine times).

Fascinated?

Pasta is a simple dish and it is available in such diverse varieties merely because it is a versatile food item.

“Not only are pasta dishes delicious, but they are also great, easy options for a quick dinner during a busy weekday”

-Marcus Samuelsson

So why not cook some?

Here are 5 Speedy Pasta dishes for the home-cook:

Numero Uno –

Pasta Carbonara

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 1 packet spaghetti, 100 g bacon (cut in strips), 3 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 100 g Pecorino Romano or Parmesan (grated), 1 Tbsp olive oil, black pepper (coarsely crushed), Salt

Directions: In a big pan, heat the oil and fry the bacon till crisp. Set the fried bacon aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the whole eggs and the yolk. Stir in the grated cheese. Set aside the mixture. Boil the spaghetti in salty water. Drain the pasta. Reserve the cooking water. In another saucepan, toss the pasta with the egg mixture, bacon and any fat rendered from cooking the bacon, over very low heat. Add salt and the pasta water. Remove from the heat. Serve right away with lots of pepper, freshly crushed in a pepper mill, and more Parmesan (optional).

Numero Dos-

Pasta with Mushroom Sauce

Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 50 gm shitake mushroom, 100 gm fresh mushroom (sliced), 1 tbsp chopped onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp fresh thyme or fresh parsley (chopped), 30 ml white wine, 100 gm whole wheat pasta-penne or linguine, salt, pepper

Directions: Put the pasta in boiling salted water. While the pasta is boiling, you should prepare the sauce. In a saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add mushroom and wine into it. Once the wine has evaporated, add some of the water in which shitake mushroom was soaked. Add salt, herbs and cook for 5-6 minutes. Once the pasta is cooked, add to the sauce with a little bit of pasta water. Serve hot.

Numero Tres-

Pasta Con Pomodoro E Basilico

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 1 packet Penne, Parmesan cheese, 1 kg large red ripe tomatoes, 40 ml extra virgin olive oil, 3 cloves garlic (peeled and minced), A handful of fresh basil, a pinch of red chilly flakes, salt

Directions: Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and remove most of the seeds. Then quarter the tomatoes. Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add garlic and chilly flakes. As soon as the garlic gives off its aroma, add the tomatoes. Cook over high heat until the tomato begins to thicken. Use a wooden spoon to stir and help break the tomato pulp. Add the basil and some salt. When the sauce is cooked, remove it from the heat and run it through a food processor for a minute. Cook the pasta in abundant boiling water and drain. Place in a serving bowl with the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta and mix well with the sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Numero Cuatro-

Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli

Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

For the Dough – 2 1/2 cup flour, 2 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil, salt
For the Filling – 1 cup spinach (blanched), 1 cup ricotta cheese, 3 tbsp parmesan cheese.

Directions: Grind all the ingredients for the filling and keep aside. To prepare the dough, take a bowl and add the flour, eggs, salt and olive oil. Add some water and knead it to make the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into thin sheets. Take the spinach mixture and make small portions of it. Place this mixture on the dough sheet, cover and press the sheet around the filling. Cut it in desired shapes and boil them till done. Serve hot.

Numero Sinco-

Four Cheese Pasta

Time: 40 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 1 cup macaroni (pasta), 15 gm parmesan cheese, 20 gm cheddar cheese,15 gm brie cheese, 20 gm swiss emmental cheese, 12 cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup milk, 1 sprig rosemary, 1 sprig thyme, 1 spring onion, 2 cloves garlic, 10 gm chopped onions, 10 gm chopped leeks, 10 gm chopped celery, 1 bay leaf, 60 gm butter, 30 gm flour, 1 pinch white pepper, 1/2 tsp nutmeg grated, pinch of chilli flakes

Directions: Boil the macaroni in salted water. Strain and put in a bowl with olive oil. Melt the butter with flour in a saucepan along with olive oil. Boil milk with rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and spring onions. Strain the milk in with the flour and butter, whisking slowly. Season with salt and pepper. Grate parmesan, add cheddar, some chunks of brie and emmental. Put in the sauce and mix it in. In a hot pan add some slice garlic, cherry tomatoes, chilli flakes and a pinch of salt. Saute well and deglaze with a touch of white wine. Mix the macaroni with the sauce. Serve hot.

November 21, 2014
Wants to gain some extra kilos..??

In this Neoteric world, mostly people seem to lose their weight or lose some kilos, but there are people who want to put on some weight and gain some extra kilos. These are the people who are thin as a stick and for gaining extra kilos they tends to move towards unhealthy food or junk food. They believe that extra intake of this unhealthy food would help them to gain some amount of fat, but in reality it is not so. These foods help them to add weight, but at the same time they add bad fat to our body and make it unhealthy. So it is suggested to have such food in our meal which tends to increase the amount of nutrients in our body and increases our energy level.

People may be skinny and underweight due to a variety of reasons other than the hierarchy problem. It may be inadequate habit of feeding, long amount of gap between their meal time, bad selection of dishes, large workouts, etc. Sometimes diseases may also be the cause of underweight like cancer, tuberculosis, eating disorders and hormonal imbalances. So apart from sticking to the fact that you are underweight you must change your eating habits, selection of food and get back to a normal health. Eat butter, cheese, paneer in your meal is the very common advice you can get from everyone. But the question is: Are these three things sufficient for gaining weight?? Actually, extra intake of these items can have a bad effect on the heart

Salmon is the food which is rich in protein, so daily intake of two servings would help you to increase your protein level and helps in gaining weight. It consists of omega-3 fatty acid in it which helps it earn a title of health-supportive food.

You can take peanut butter too. It is a paste made from roasted peanuts. It is being a good source of saturated fats and vitamins helps to increase the energy and make you more fit and fine. It is preferred and generally served with bread so that with just one serving 192 calories is added to our diet. This is the healthiest way and the best choice for the people who are trying to gain weight. While taking this, make sure it contains a less amount of sugar in it. This is the main source of Vitamin B3 and folate.

You can take eggs with your meals and this is the only food which suits to everyone’s pocket. It provides proteins, Vitamin A, D and E and add a good amount of cholesterol to our body and helps in gaining extra kilos.

Start your morning with Granola. It is the most nutritious diet one can have in his/her breakfast. It consists of nuts and oats, which are sufficient for providing a good amount of calories in our body. Natural Granola is a cereal which has no added sugar in it. We can also add some dry fruits to it and enjoy this with thick yogurt to have a delicious experience.

For glowing and shiny skin you know nothing could have been better than the fruit juice, but do you people known it plays a significant role in gaining extra kilos too. With the intake of fruit juices, whether it may be of watermelon, apple, strawberry, etc. increases our energy and nutrient level. And also due to the presence of sugar it helps in gaining weight. According to food experts’ mango, banana and pineapple are the best choice you can make and if it is not possible to eat all of them one by one then you can blend them together. This serving would be full of sugar and can provide you energy.

You can take dry fruits and oats at least one time in a day and if possible morning is the best time. It is very fast and quick method to add calories along with the nutrients to the body rather than fresh ones. Oats contain fibre together with various nutrients so intake of these seems to be good for skinny people.

Bananas are the most easily available and in budget fruit in the market. Intake of two bananas in a day can prove to be fruitful. Generally people used to take these bananas with the milk in the morning so that along with the calorie proteins also add to our diet. People who used to workout, take these bananas on a daily basis as it is a good source of carbohydrates and nutrients.

Indulge yourself in a habit of exercising every day. It will regularly tune your body and maintain the level of intake of nutrients. It maintains the flexibility of our body and helps to make our muscles stronger. It indirectly helps in gaining our weight.

These are some of the ways to shut the mouth of those people who usually comment you as skinny and thin. Try these and gain some extra kilos to look more perfect.

July 1, 2014
Quicker Meals For A Quick Life

Cooking is a lovely, satisfying, stress busting task. But when it becomes a duty, it seems exhaustive rather than recreation from exhaustion. And all the homemakers, wives, and people who have to make food everyday three times, will agree with me. No matter how much you love cooking, there will be a time, when you’ll start getting sick or bored of this 3-times-a-day duty.

In every household, the person who has to cook everyday has a secret dream that every meal’s food should magically appear, specially the working people. This is because cooking is not what everybody wants to do after a tiring day at work, and making dinners by starting from a scratch seems a daunting task specially to these people. Well, people like them, now have an advantage because of the evolving cooking techniques and skills.

Today we can find many instant food materials that can be substituted in the place of items that involve tedious cooking. But these instant options have many preservatives and therefore are meant to be occasionally used.

But again, the food industry has come to our rescue. We now have a bunch of instant foods that are healthy and get ready in over 15-30 minutes. For the people who are not aware of these foods, here’s a list of foods that can be quickly cooked and are high on the health quotient as well.

Instant rice:

Rice, specially brown rice, is a healthy and versatile grain that is a delicious ingredient in stir fries, soups and rice puddings. You can save a lot of time with this instant rice, as it takes quarter of the time taken to make regular rice. Therefore, it is a great way to get this grain in your meals.

Eggs:

Eggs are protein rich foods and one of those foods that take very less time to cook, be it scrambled, fried, baked or poached.. The best thing about eggs are that all these types are delicious to eat and can take up any combination of flavors that you wish to add. Thus, these re a great alternative as a meal.

Frozen corn:

Frozen corn is just as nutritious and tasty as fresh corn, and is way more convenient to eat than the fresh corn. They can be added into soups, salads, fries, sandwiches with great ease and this saves tons of time; as unlike fresh corn, they don’t have to be plucked from fresh kernels.

Fresh pasta:

If you are from a regular pasta eating family, then fresh pasta is surely a boon for you to have as a meal, specially dinner. Dried pasta cooks quickly, but fresh pasta takes half the time as compared to dried pasta. Fresh pasta, like ravioli, comes in more varieties than dried pasta and also comes with tasty cheese and meatball fillings, which can bring a tasty change to the regular pasta meal. It can also be used n combination with soup, as a quick cooking ingredient.

Quinoa:

Quinoa is an awesome ingredient for people in a hurry. It cooks in minutes in boiling water, comes in many colorful varieties, and tastes just great with meat, veggies and seasonings. Plus, it is rich in proteins and nutrients, which doesn’t make you worry about the health factor.

Canned tomatoes:

Canned tomatoes are an essential ingredient in pastas, soups, stews, chilies and sauces. The best thing about them is that they become a dish in no time, and save you from the extra work of peeling, seeding, dicing, or chopping or simmering them.

Refrigerated pie crust :

Refrigerated pie, is incredibly easy to work with as it is pre-made. It is very convenient to use for sweet recipes. If you want to whip up a quick dessert or make a tart or a pot pie, the time needed is just the time that is used up in baking the dish, that is 15-20 minutes, and your dish is ready.

Bulgur wheat:

Bulgur wheat is a grain salad that is not only a great option to use as a side dish with meat, fish or chicken, but is hearty enough to be a tasty vegetarian dish, all on its own. It makes a fluffy or filling base, because it is parboiled before being dried and packaged for sale. And therefore, it takes only 10-15 minutes to cook and is surely a tasty treat.

Thus, these are some quick ingredients that are not only healthy, but take very less time to cook, so that you can have a fun relaxing and easy meal with family. Using these at home will never get you bored or sick of cooking. And these ingredients are so healthy that you do not have to worry about preservatives and artificial flavors.

So, this should definitely be your pick if you plan to have a tasty, filling healthy, and at the same time, a quickly prepared meal on the dining table and to make your cooking fun.

June 5, 2014
Festa Italiana: How to Eat Healthy at an Italian Restaurant

On days that you don’t feel like cooking, what do you do? For many of you, the likely answer is order a pizza. It’s true. The urban Indian audience has been fast developing a taste for Italian food. And it’s not just the promptly delivered, hassle-free pizzas that we go for either. For many of us today, bruschetta, pasta, and lasagna are standard choices when eating out. But what are the implications of an appetite for cheesy pizza, creamy pasta, and gooey lasagna for your heart and waistline? Obviously, adverse. So does that mean you have to give up on your favourite Italian restaurant in favour of your health? Or would you continue your liaison with Italian food, albeit with a guilty conscious? Thankfully, there’s an effective middle path. The two major variables in Italian food are pasta and sauce, and both have the power to steer you towards obesity and heart disease. That’s the bad news. The good news, though, is that they don’t have to. There are ways to make your experience of dining at an Italian restaurant easier on your conscience and your midsection.

Good things first, authentic Italian is arguably one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. What accounts for this win? The answer is its star ingredients: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, oregano, parsley, and basil. Studies have shown that lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, may help prevent breast cancer. One of the best ways to get cancer-fighting lycopene into your system is by consuming cooked tomato products: half a cup of tomato sauce has more than 20 milligrams. Plus, garlic, and traditional Italian herbs and spices like oregano, parsley, and basil are great sources of vitamins A and C. Olive oil is known to help lower cholesterol, fight heart disease, and burn belly fat.

Notice how melted cheese isn’t on that list of power Italian staples? Italians typically use Parmesan or other hard cheeses instead, grated in small amounts for a big flavour boost. It’s the Americanised versions of Italian dishes that typically tend to be loaded with fat and calories. And it is here that you have to be careful. Here are a few guidelines on how to choose right from amongst your favourites when eating Italian.

Pasta:

Pasta is basically just dough made from durum wheat and water, extruded or stamped into various shapes and typically cooked in boiling water. It provides quick burning carbs and is lower on the calorie meter than traditional Indian staples like steamed rice. However, it’s not the pasta but the sauce that you need to be careful about. Sauces are the big players in Italian cuisine. As such, choosing your sauce carefully is crucial to your nutritional success. Marinara is a smooth basic tomato sauce that is virtually fat-free and delivers at least one serving of fruit in the form of antioxidant-packed tomatoes. Go for Arrabiata if you like your food spicy. It is basically the same as Marinara, but with red pepper flakes that give you an instant burn. Pesto is high on fat content, but most of that is healthy monounsaturated fat from olive oil. Besides, the addition of basil and garlic adds a concentrated punch of cancer-fighting compounds. Butter and Parmesan offers just fat from the sauce and quick-burning carbs from the pasta. Alfredo is the same as Butter and Parmesan, but with the addition of heavy cream. If you are looking for something heart-healthy and light, this is not the sauce for you.

Pizza:

Pizzas are family farourites. But a careless order can turn your pizza into a fat-loaded nutritional disaster. Opt for whole-wheat thin crusts instead of cheese-filled or deep dish ones. Veggie toppings are a good call. Think tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, onions, garlic, and peppers. Skip the pepperoni, meatballs, and sausages – they add more calories than you might be prepared to bargain for. If you want meat on your pizza, go for chicken chunks. Avoid extra cheese. You could even ask for lesser cheese or no cheese at all and simply sprinkle a spoonful of Parmesan on top for flavour.

Lasagna:

While the traditional recipe can be effectively altered at home to cut the calorie content, the restaurant versions are so loaded with fat that it is all but impossible to order a lasagna without dealing a heavy nutritional blow to your body. If you frequent Italian restaurants, it is probably a good idea to give this comfort food a miss.

Bruschetta:

Love bruschettas? This Italian version of chips and salsa has much more going for it than the bottomless baskets of fried tortillas. A full order will run about 600 calories — perfect for a table of four. Opt for the mussels. Low in fat and packed with protein, they make a good start to your meal.

Penne alla Vodka:

Here’s a tricky one. The alcohol gets cooked off, but before it goes it helps extract flavours that would otherwise remain hidden in the tomatoes. However, the caliber of the sauce depends entirely on what’s used in the house recipe. Ask your server if your dish is closer in color to the red of tomato soup or the washed-out pink of white zinfandel wine. If it’s the latter, look elsewhere.

Chicken Marsala:

Made with chicken cutlets, mushrooms, and Marsala wine, this preparation has all the potential for being full of health if the original recipe is followed. However, more often than not, in restaurants chefs get carried away with the prosciutto and oil and this simple staple may pack in a whopping 900 calories or more.

Cannoli

This authentic Sicilian dessert consists of pastry dough stuffed with sweetened ricotta, a cheese that shares much in common nutritionally with cottage cheese. As long as the portion size is reasonable, cannoli is any day preferable over a 700-calorie slice of tiramisu. To keep it around 200 calories, look for a piece about 4 inches long. If served two to a plate, share them.

Gelato:

The Italian ice cream is made with milk instead of heavy cream. Although that doesn’t make it a zero-impact food, but it is undoubtedly a massive step above Haagen-Dazs.

Now that you have the facts, tips, and tricks down, head out to your favourite Italian restaurant with confidence and enjoy a guilt-free Italian feast!

May 26, 2014