Monday, March 1, 2010

Long hard day Pasta!!

I love to cook, and I love to eat. It can turn my day around. But I do live in Mumbai which can be unbelievably exhausting at times. Some days, while I ride the train back home, I slip into this wonderful fantasy of gorgeous creamy pasta for dinner, but when I get back home and wander into the kitchen I can’t muster the strength required for it.
 So one of these days I was digging through my kitchen cupboard to find me something healthy and tasty to eat when I stumbled upon the packet of instant soup sitting there. So here’s what I did.. I like to call this Long Hard Day Pasta.
 
You will need:-
1 Packet of instant soup (any kind) Creamy Mushroom was mine
1 cup of chopped veggies (I used corn, capsicum and tomatoes) you could also add a cup of shredded chicken/meat if you feel like.
A spoonful of dried herbs (basil, thyme and oregano are my faves)
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
Pasta, about 150 gms for 2 people. Use the small shapes, shell/macaroni/penne


How:
Boil water enough for the pasta to swim in it, add two tablespoons of salt and tip in the pasta and test after about 6-8 mins for doneness(if that’s a word). Don’t cover the pot. While that is going on, empty the contents of the instant soup into a dish and add half the amount of water as requested on the pack. Stir well to remove lumps and heat till it comes to the consistency u desire. Sauté the vegetables lightly, with some olive oil, herbs, pepper, salt and remove from the heat. Your pasta should be done by this time. Drain but don’t rinse the pasta. Sauces don’t adhere to rinsed pasta.

Transfer your drained pasta onto a plate, drizzle some gorgeous olive oil on it. (its fantastic if you have garlic infused olive oil)  the veggies go next and finally pour the sauce on top, and voila!! Garnish with fresh basil or parsley or just grate some delicious parmesan on top of it.

Believe me, it gets done in less than 15 minutes and tastes divine.

6 comments:

  1. yum in my tum! :P u cook il eat :P

    P.s nicely written love! :*

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  2. This. Is. Boon.

    Thanks:)

    And when I put up a picture of me eating it, I'll be sure to linkback.

    You have more in the Long Hard Day series?:)

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  3. This looks and sounds really yummy!! I'm a good cook too, but my traditional pasta takes about 40 mins to get done!! I'm trying this tonight!

    Thanks D!!

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  4. This is super cool man...I always wondered about the mushroom sauce they used in pasta :D however using the soup never stuck me...now cheers to innovation in the kitchen ;)

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  5. Soup pasta is like my staple diet. :)
    You can actually make it further simpler by putting it all together and boiling it, like you make regular instant noodles, except that the tastemaker is substituted by soup powder.
    I've never tried it with herbs. Next time, I'll try that.

    P.S: I tried making pasta the other day with Kissan Cheesy Garlic Spread. :P And no, it wasn't a disaster! You should try it. You just have to put in a spoon or two of it in the oil before putting in the boiled pasta.

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  6. Thanks for the comments guys! Long hard day series sounds like a plan!! :) Will get cracking!!

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