I've been told many times that it's not enough to just post pictures of the food I cook and tempt everyone but to invite them all home and feed them. (I've done the inviting bit, but no one has actually come home yet!)
The next best thing I figured is to write down the recipes (whenever possible) so that you all can make it too if you want to!
A warning though - I am not a recipe writer, so it might not be a perfectly written recipe. And there won't be any step-by-step pictures either because honestly, I don't have the patience. I also wing it a lot while cooking, so I can mostly tell you in terms of a little bit of this or a wee pinch of that! If you need more clarifications, please ask me specifically and I will try and answer.
So here goes:
Tomato-Basil Spaghetti:
(Enough for 3 people)
You will need:
250 gms of spaghetti (Any spaghetti will do. I don’t like the texture of whole wheat pasta, so I used durum-wheat semolina pasta)
2 medium-sized tomatoes
A handful of basil leaves
4-5 cloves of garlic
2-3 tbsp of cooking oil (I used olive-pomace oil)
About a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
2-3 tbsp of grated Parmesan
A handful of black olives slices (optional)
A pinch of dried or fresh rosemary (optional)
What to do:
-- Boil water and cook spaghetti as instructed. Drain the water and spread out the spaghetti to cool. (Don’t put oil in water or toss it with oil after you drain it though. That will make it extra slippery and the herbs and flavours won’t stick to it enough later.)
-- Chop the garlic finely.
-- Dice the tomatoes (If you have cherry tomatoes that’s best because it looks nice, but regular tomatoes will do just fine.)
-- Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic. Fry it for 20 seconds on low flame or until the raw smell is gone. Don't let it brown.
-- Add the tomatoes. Fry again until it’s slightly soft.
-- Then add a handful of basil leaves. Also add sliced olives to it. (I didn't this time because I thought I had it in my fridge, but when I checked the bottle there were just two sad-looking olives at the bottom. ðĪŠ)
-- Add salt, chilli flakes and rosemary. (This is not mandatory. Only if you have it. I have rosemary growing in a pot so I find excuses to use it whenever I can.)
-- Mix it up and when the basil starts to wilt add the cooked spaghetti. Toss is all up together. In the end, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.
-- Turn off the flame and garnish with Parmesan cheese. (Again, I didn’t have Parmesan so I just used cheddar. I’m all about improvising!ð)
So that's it. Let me know it all makes sense?
Bonus: Here's the full lunchbox I packed today! ð
The next best thing I figured is to write down the recipes (whenever possible) so that you all can make it too if you want to!
A warning though - I am not a recipe writer, so it might not be a perfectly written recipe. And there won't be any step-by-step pictures either because honestly, I don't have the patience. I also wing it a lot while cooking, so I can mostly tell you in terms of a little bit of this or a wee pinch of that! If you need more clarifications, please ask me specifically and I will try and answer.
So here goes:
Tomato-Basil Spaghetti:
(Enough for 3 people)
You will need:
250 gms of spaghetti (Any spaghetti will do. I don’t like the texture of whole wheat pasta, so I used durum-wheat semolina pasta)
2 medium-sized tomatoes
A handful of basil leaves
4-5 cloves of garlic
2-3 tbsp of cooking oil (I used olive-pomace oil)
About a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
2-3 tbsp of grated Parmesan
A handful of black olives slices (optional)
A pinch of dried or fresh rosemary (optional)
What to do:
-- Boil water and cook spaghetti as instructed. Drain the water and spread out the spaghetti to cool. (Don’t put oil in water or toss it with oil after you drain it though. That will make it extra slippery and the herbs and flavours won’t stick to it enough later.)
-- Chop the garlic finely.
-- Dice the tomatoes (If you have cherry tomatoes that’s best because it looks nice, but regular tomatoes will do just fine.)
-- Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic. Fry it for 20 seconds on low flame or until the raw smell is gone. Don't let it brown.
-- Add the tomatoes. Fry again until it’s slightly soft.
-- Then add a handful of basil leaves. Also add sliced olives to it. (I didn't this time because I thought I had it in my fridge, but when I checked the bottle there were just two sad-looking olives at the bottom. ðĪŠ)
-- Add salt, chilli flakes and rosemary. (This is not mandatory. Only if you have it. I have rosemary growing in a pot so I find excuses to use it whenever I can.)
-- Mix it up and when the basil starts to wilt add the cooked spaghetti. Toss is all up together. In the end, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil.
-- Turn off the flame and garnish with Parmesan cheese. (Again, I didn’t have Parmesan so I just used cheddar. I’m all about improvising!ð)
So that's it. Let me know it all makes sense?
Bonus: Here's the full lunchbox I packed today! ð
