It is after all not all that hard to rustle up a delicious restaurant-like pasta at home. Add to it a sumptuous salad and garlic bread. Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, food consultant for Godrej Nature's Basket,shares notes on making an authentic Italian fare and how to get the pasta sauce and accompaniments right.
The recipes are downright healthy and make for a simple, no-frill,traditional Italian meal. Go ahead, try them out and share with friends too.
Health note : "Garlic has been scientifically proven to be antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. However, practically, it has also been noted that garlic helps prevent heart diseases, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Sesame is an excellent source of fat, vitamin E and it also has smaller amounts of calcium and protein," says Rushina.
Tahina is a Middle Eastern spread made of toasted Sesame that is used by itself or with other things in dips and dressings for salads. It makes a healthy alternative to butter.
Ingredients:
6 cloves of garlic
60 ml tahina (middle-eastern sesame seed paste)
60 ml lemon juice
Salt (to taste)
2 tbsp Parsley chopped
Sliced wholegrain bread
Method:
Mash the garlic into a paste with a pinch of salt. Add the tahina, lemon juice and half the Parsley into it. Spread onto sliced whole grain bread, sprinkle with chopped parsley and bake until crispy.
Whole wheat pasta in spinach sauce
Health note : She says, "Spinach is a great source of iron, calcium as well as proteins - all in their natural forms, so you can wave those deficiencies goodbye! I have used Parmesan cheese, which is a hard cheese that is very flavourful. So you can sprinkle just a tiny spoonful at the table for flavour."
Ingredients:
1 kg spinach blanched, squeezed dry and coarsely chopped
1 cup onion sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
250 gms freshly cooked pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated cheese to serve
Pasta water or homemade stock for thinning sauce
Method:
Cook the pasta and keep it separately. Heat butter in a pan and add onion. Sautee until transparent. Add garlic and sauté for another one minute. Then add spinach and stir fry until bright green, remove from flame and cool. When cool, blend to a paste using a little water to thin if required. When done, reheat gently and add the cooked pasta. Stir properly so that it is well coated and serve warm with grated parmesan on the side.
Tangy couscous salad
Ingredients:
300g couscous
6 cups vegetable stock (or use cooking water from chickpeas)
2 medium Zucchini, diced and steamed lightly in the microwave
2 red peppers diced
1 tbsp Pistachio oil
200g cooked chickpeas
20g parsley, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
Cook the couscous in vegetable stock according to pack instructions. Trim the ends off the zucchini, dice and steam in the microwave or lightly stir fry in 1 tsp oil in a non stick pan. Place cooked zucchini, pepper and chickpeas in a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.