Penne in Pesto Sauce

On a much needed rainy day after a long hot gruelling summer all that I wanted to do was sit out, watch the rain and sip some wine. So pasta was my obvious choice for dinner - which reminded me of a pesto sauce that I have been wanting to try ever since my visit to Carabbas. Pesto comes from pestâ which means "to pound or to crush". It is for most part made by crushing basil leaves with garlic, salt and pine nuts. sun dried tomatoes are a nice addition to the pesto. 

Anyways for this time around I wanted something that was healthy, quick, easy to make and I was not in the mood to run to the store. I luckily had the basic things that was needed and it was a breeze to put this together. I was ready with my sauteed mushrooms and pesto sauce by the time the pasta was cooked. 

Ingredients:
2 cup - penne pasta
2 cups - fresh baby spinach leaves
1/8 cup and some - pine nuts
1/8 cup - walnuts
1 tsp dried basil (fresh basil works best)
1 Tbs butter
3 Tbs olive oil
garlic 
1 cup chopped mushrooms
salt 
fresh ground black pepper
red pepper flakes


Directions:
Cook the pasta as per the instructions on your pasta box. I normally some salt to the water and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, saute the chopped mushrooms in 1 Tbs olive oil along with 1 clove of thinly sliced garlic, salt, and some red pepper flakes.
While that is going on add the washed spinach, basil, pine nuts, walnuts, 2 garlic cloves, salt, pepper, butter and 2 Tbs olive oil to a food processor or mixer and grind for a minute. the pesto should be thick but not smooth. 


Toss the pasta, pesto and mushrooms together and enjoy. Told you , it was a breeze :)


bon appetit !!!

Avocado-Basil Rice with Spicy Shrimp

I love love love Rice. Its something that I have to have everyday. Every once in a while I make some kind of flavored rice. Be it a pulao or tomato or lemon - nothing is more satisfying to me than rice :)

Anyways fish or shrimp cooked in a lot of spices and some rice to go along with it was my staple food growing up...what with me being a Keralite. I love my seafood cooked in a lot of different ways but cooked with a lot of spices beats everything else hands down.

So I set out to make some spicy shrimp and to go with it, I try an avocado-basil flavored rice courtesy of Claire Robinson of Food Network.

Avocado-Basil Rice
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Ingredients :

1 cup basmati rice
1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lemon, juiced
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups water
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste


Directions:

Wash and soak the rice for about 15 minutes. Bring the rice, 2 cups of water and salt to a boil. Recude the heat to medium and cover the pan. Cook until the water is completely absorbed and the rice is cooked. You should be able to separate the rice - make sure they dont end up being mushy.
Remove from heat and let stand, covered.

In the meantime, gring the avocado, basil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oil, and a littel water (1/4 cup) in the blender. It should be slightly thick so watch the water.

Fluff the rice with a fork and gently fold the avocaod-basil puree into the warm rice. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve it with your choice of spiced seafood or meat or veggies.


Spicy Shrimp
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Ingredients :

1.5 Tbs olive oil
2 cups shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 small tomato finely chopped
2-3 small green chillies chopped
1 small bunch cilantro finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
pinch of black pepper powder
salt to taste


Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion until well done. Be careful not to burn them. Now add the tomato, green chili and fry for 2 minutes. Add all the spices and a little water and cook for 2 minutes until the gravy thickens. Add the shrimp, cilantro and salt - cover and cook making sure that the gracy is thick - not dry and not too thin.

Once th shrimp is cooked cover and let is rest for a few minutes. Serve with the rice.

If the spices are a little too much to your taste or if you have a weak stomach you might want to go easy on the green chili and avoid the black pepper. But if you have to have it spicy but still cant handle it then I suggest you make sure you have a cup of plain yogurt to with your rice and shrimp.

Tips: This recipe also works well with paneer if you want to go vegetarian. You could also try it with potatoes or cauliflower. Be sure to add some green bell peppers for the crunch.

bon appetit !!!