Pesto Spaghetti with Garlic Prawns & Oven-roasted Tomatoes

Phew! Its been a marathon blogging session today. I've been a bit slow with these posts and had them lying around in my drafts for the past couple of weeks. Therefore, today I am on a mission. To bring all you folks up to speed with all the gorgeous stuff that has been cooking in my kitchen these past few weeks!

A little while ago an item on the menu of this restaurant I eat at occasionally caught my eye. They were serving a Pesto penne with sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts and grilled chicken.
Vineet and I loooove fresh basil pesto, so I whipped some up and decided to make my version of Pesto pasta for dinner last Friday.
Long golden strands of Spaghetti, coated in a fresh, flavorful basil-pecan pesto, with some divine sauteed garlic prawns and roasted cherry tomatoes... just SO good!

Ingredients for Pesto: (Makes about 1 cup)
- 1 large bunch of Basil leaves, rinsed and drained and roughly torn
- 2-3 cloves of Garlic, peeled
- 1/2 cup Pecans (or Walnuts), lightly toasted and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp Sunflower seeds, lightly toasted (optional)
- 1/2 cup good Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt, to taste
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)about 1/2 cup

Ingredients for Pasta: (Serves 2)
- 2-3 handfuls of Spaghetti
- 10-12 large Prawns, de-veined (tail-on prawns just make for a better presentation!)
- 2-3 cloves of Garlic, finely minced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- EVOO, a couple of table spoons
- 1/2 cup good Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt & Pepper, to taste.

Method:
1.)  To make the pesto, place all the ingredients except the salt and EVOO in a food processor. Pulse till the basil and other ingredients are well minced. Add the Olive oil little by little and buzz after each addition till the whole pesto comes together to a smooth (or chunky if you like it that way) consistency. Lightly season with salt. Set aside.

2.)  Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Line a baking sheet with some aluminum foil. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and drizzle with some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25-30 mins or till their skins are wrinkled and they are slightly charred in parts. Keep warm.

3.) While the tomatoes roast, place the prawns in a bowl. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil and lightly season with some salt and pepper. Add the minced garlic and allow the prawns in soak in all the flavours.

4.) Cook the spaghetti in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water till al dente. Drain and place in a large bowl.
Pour the prepared pesto and gently toss to coat the pasta evenly. Cover and keep warm.

5.) Right before its time to serve, heat a non-stick pan until very hot. Lower the heat a little and add the prawns along with the oil and garlic that they have been marinating in. Saute the prawns until nice and golden on both sides.

6.)  Plate the pesto-coated Spaghetti as elegantly as you possibly can. Arrange the garlicky prawns on top and dot the pasta with the roasted cherry tomatoes. Grate some Parmesan cheese and garnish with some fresh basil.

Oh this stuff is so good! The mild yet prominent flavors of the pesto with the prawns and the charred acidity of the tomatoes.... that is magic right there! Buon appetito! :)

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes & Olivada with Yoghurt marinated Grilled Salmon

Weekends are god's way of showing us that he loves us...It gives us the extra time to do stuff that we put off on the other 5 days of the week - like spring cleaning, doing laundry, catching up on sleep, and....guiltily updating your cooking blog that is 2 weeks overdue :(
For a while now I've been trying to experiment with Salads that are more "main course". I came across some very interesting Pasta salad recipes on Epicurious.com, and these seemed to be a perfect choice for main-course salad meals. This Pasta Salad with peppers, tomato and Green Olivada, is all vegetarian, and we enjoyed this served with a grilled fillet of Salmon. Needless to say, it was a very satisfying meal, and a nice break from our usual weeknight dinner :)

PASTA SALAD WITH PEPPERS, CHERRY TOMATOES AND GREEN OLIVADA

Ingredients for Olivada:
1 large clove Garlic, peeled

1/2 cup pitted Green Olives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata Olives, roughly chopped,
2 tbsp Capers, drained
1 tbsp Red wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp Red chilli flakes
1/4 cup Extra-virgin Olive oil

Ingredients for Salad:
1 cup Whole-wheat pasta ( I used Fusilli)
1 cup Cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh Mozzarella balls
2 tbsp fresh Oregano / or Basil, chopped
1 Red bell pepper (capsicum), finely sliced


Method for Olivada:
1.) Mince the garlic clove in a food processor. Add the Olives, capers, and all other ingredients except the Olive oil.
2.) Process on 'pulse' mode till chunky. Add the olive oil little by little and puree the mixture into a thick-ish paste-like consistency. Set aside.

Method for Salad:
1.) Cook the pasta in salted boiling water till its cooked, but not too soft and still has some 'bite'. Drain the hot water and pour chilled / iced water over the cooked pasta to keep it from cooking with any residual heat. Let it drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
2.) Drizzle the pasta with some extra virgin Olive oil and season with freshly cracked pepper and gently toss to coat.
3.) Add the halved cherry tomatoes, sliced bell peppers (capsicum) and mozzarella balls.
4.) Add the Olive paste (Olivada) and toss to coat the pasta and vegetables. Best served chilled.

YOGHURT MARINATED GRILLED SALMON FILLET

Ingredients:

350 g x 2 nos, Salmon fillets

1 cup Yoghurt (slighly sour)

1-1/2 tbsp Cumin powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Red chilli powder

1 tsp Ginger-garlic paste

1 wedge of lime

Salt, to taste

Method:

1.) Mix the yoghurt with the rest of the spices and other ingredients. 

2.) Rinse the fillets under running water and pat dry. Make 1/2" deep slits in the flesh of the fish. 

3.) Rub the marinade all over the fillet and allow it to marinate for atleast 2 hours or preferably overnight.

4.) Heat the grill. Shake of excess marinade from the fillet and grill under high heat till nicely browned to your liking... I like the meat to be slightly scorched in parts... yum! Allow the fish to rest for a few minutes. Squirt some lime juice and Eat up! 

Wine spiked Spinach & Mushroom Pasta

Earlier this week, I made this for dinner at the end of a busy day. I say this to reinforce that for something that was so delicious & healthy, it was ridiculously easy. I used a packet of mixed mushrooms (white button, brown mushrooms & portobello) but even plain white button mushrooms will be just as delicious.
I made this using whole Wheat pasta, since I wanted to make this as healthy as possible. For those of you who are curious about the specific health benefits of using whole wheat pasta over refined flour pasta, see the following link : http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/Y/yawye/pasta.html

The Cream cheese is an optional ingredient, but it added incredible flavor and gave the sauce a lovely twang & texture. If you want to avoid it or cant find any, you could try using some hung yoghurt instead, and definitely let me know how it turned out!

Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole Wheat Penne pasta, or any other Pasta of your choice
- 1 bunch Spinach, rinsed & leaves roughly chopped
- 8-10 Mixed mushrooms, sliced
- 1-2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour (maida)
- 2 tbsp Cream cheese
- 1/2 cup White wine
- Salt & Pepper, to taste

Method:

1.) Bring a pot of water to boil. Drizzle in some olive oil and add a couple of teaspoons os Salt. Cook the Pasta according to packet instructions.
2.) Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and saute the garlic till fragrant. Sprinkle the flour and stir steadily to cook the flour for a few seconds. Keep on low flame to keep it from browning.
3.) Slosh the wine into the pan and stir till the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Add the mushrooms and allow them to cook in the wine.
4.) Stir in the Cream cheese followed by the roughly chopped Spinach. While the spinach wilts and cooks, season the sauce with Salt & freshly cracked black Pepper.
5.) Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the Sauce. Toss gently to ensure its evenly coated.
Serve up with some grated Parmesan cheese and toasted bread.