Rotini with Velvety Oyster Mushrooms

Big A loves Mushrooms and his favorite mushroom dishes are pastas, soups and bakes! And the creamy cheesy ones are our go to. Its so easy and tastes just yum. 

To make this recipe Baby / toddler friendly skip the salt and Fresno pepper. When offering babies / toddlers pasta go for whole wheat ones. And when choosing cheese opt for unprocessed and unsalted cheese and butter. 

You Will Need:

250g of Rotini Pasta   

1 Medium Onion, Finely Chopped

250g of Oyster Mushrooms, Sliced
A tsp of Garlic Powder / Garlic Granules
1/2 Cup of Grated Cheese, Parmesan and Cheddar
1/2 Cup of Half and Half
2 tbsp of Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley
Some Finely Chopped Lemon Basil
2 Finely Chopped Fresno Pepper, Depending on how hot you like
Salt to Taste

2 tbsp of Butter / Olive Oil

The Cooking:

Heat a large saucepan with ample water, sea salt and a tbsp of oil on high. Once the water begins to boil tumble in the rotini and give a quick stir. Cook for 15 mins or till the pasta is cooked stirring every few mins to avoid sticking to the bottom. Drain the rotini and run under cold water to avoid them from sticking.

NOTE: Adding oil to the water has no significance. Make sure u have the flame high and the water boils rapidly throughout cooking the pasta. Only this helps the pasta to stay separated.

Heat a heavy bottom sauce pan and add the butter with a tbsp of oil to stop it from burning. Once hot add the onions and saute till pink and translucent. Add the Fresno pepper and oyster mushrooms. Saute on high till the mushrooms release water and cook till the mushroom has dried up. Then sprinkle the garlic powder and mix well. Pour in half and half and bring to a gentle simmer. Tumble in the rotini and mix well. Add in the cheese and mix till the cheese is combined and melted. 

Season with salt, and add the chopped parsley and basil. Serve hot

Happy Cooking!

Vegetarian

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Chicken Lasagna

LASAGNA…. Plural lasagne is a Greek origin taking its name from the pot it is cooked in,’ Lasanum’ meaning cooking pot in Latin. The word also refers to a dish made with a flat type of pasta with different sauces and baked in the oven. The recipe I have given is a very basic one. One can create endless versions of lasagna like spinach lasagna, seafood lasagna, roasted vegetable lasagna, turkey lasagna, it just keeps going.

An authentic basic lasagna has FOUR major components to make it rich and absolutely delicious.

1. First the lasagna sheet itself. Traditionally the dough was made with semolina and water in southern Italy and flour and eggs in the northern region where semolina was not available. Now in Italy they use only durum wheat and eggs. The lasagna sheets we get in India had durum wheat and semolina.
2. Bolognese or meat sauce for pasta originated from Bologna Italy. Its ground meat mostly beef and sausages cooked in a tomato puree and red wine. It’s just a basic sauce and we can create our own versions of it.
3. Béchamel sauce or white sauce gives that creaminess to lasagna and also it holds each layer together. This sauce is so easy to prepare. Just butter, plain flour, whole milk and seasoning. That’s it. 
4. Now comes everyone’s favourite. The Cheeessseeeee….Lasagna needs cheese. Without cheese??? No I can’t even imagine it. But you can control the amount of cheese that goes in it.  Traditionally, lasagna has three types of cheese in it - Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella.

So I have made my version of lasagna absolutely simple, ingredients that are always available in your pantry. Remember it’s heavy on the waistline; keep it as once in a month affair.

BUON APPETITO!

You Will Need:

A loaf tin 30 cm

5 -6 Lasagna Sheets

Bread crumbs – 2 tbsp

Grated Mozzarella – as much as you want

For Bolognese Sauce:

Ground chicken – 500 g

White onions – 2 large finely chopped

Bell peppers – 1 finely chopped

Tomato Puree – 1 Cup

Chicken Stock – 1 ½ Cup

Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp

Cumin Powder – 1 tsp

Chopped mint and coriander – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 3 tbsp

Béchamel sauce:

Butter – 2 tbsp

Plain flour – 2 tbsp

Whole milk – 1 Cup

Grated Cheddar Cheese – ½ Cup

Oregano – 1 tsp

Pepper – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

The Cooking

Cook the lasagna sheets as per the instructions given on the box.

For the Bolognese sauce, heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. Once hot add the chopped onions and bell peppers and sauté till golden brown. Then add the tomato puree and cook for 5 min. Add the chicken and stir well so that the chicken is fully covered with the sauce. Cook for couple of min and add the chilli powder and salt. Stir again and pour in the chicken stock and cook till the chicken is tender and the sauce comes together nice and thick. This would take around 30 min on a medium heat. Sprinkle the mint, coriander and cumin powder and stir well. It’s ok if your sauce is a bit dry but make sure the chicken has absorbed all the stock.

For the Béchamel sauce, melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Add the flour and keep whisking vigorously. Keep the heat on low and whisk till the flour has become crumbly and mixed with the butter. Now pour in the milk and keep whisking. The flour will dissolve in the milk and no lumps will be seen. At this stage the sauce will begin to thicken. Add the grated cheese to it and whisk well keeping the heat on low. Sprinkle oregano, salt and pepper and whisk till the sauce has thickened.

How to layer

In the loaf tin put a layer of meat sauce and top it with one lasagna sheet. Now layer that with the white sauce followed by the meat sauce. Again top it with a lasagna sheet. Again layer it with white sauce followed by meat sauce topping it off with a lasagna sheet. Repeat the step till you reach the top of the loaf tin. Add a final layer of lasagna sheet and cover with grated Mozzarella and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 15 – 20 min or until the top is browned and the cheese has completely melted. 

Important pointers:

• You can use water replacing chicken stock. The stock enhances the flavor more. 
• Bread crumbs are optional. I add them as I like a crunchy top. 
• I made this for two of us. Hence the loaf tin. But if you are making for a large crowd use a large baking dish and double the recipe accordingly. 

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Happy Cooking!

Pasta

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