Cooked penne today

[just4kix]

Will enjoy this with some wine ...

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[Staxxx]

This is why I like reading this forum....most days it is about hifi...and then again other days it's not!!

 

[Rgn1]

I am soo hungry for pasta now :licklips: :licklips:

Looks good Enjoy!

Cheers!

 

[kendun]

Looks good.

 

[just4kix]

:signthankspin: everyone.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Time for a group listening test!

Err... I mean eating test

Looks delicious

 

[avidyarthy]

Can make out lotsa cheese, macaroni (maybe) and shredded meat (more like keema) ... am I right? Me would use more of the meat ... getting hungry again! :sad:

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Not a pasta-type expert, but macaroni is smooth, pene is sort-of groovy! Usually cut on the diagonal too. Maybe it looks like a pen----e!

(I don't know any Italian either: pene and pen may be utterly unrelated )

 

[ranjeetrain]

There you go, we have a lot of foodies here. Count me in whenever someone cooks something delicious. I don't never say no to any good dish

Oh btw, I do waddle through the kitchen every once in a while. And all I can say in my defense is, no one has ever been killed by eating food cooked by me, including myself

 

[just4kix]

Can make out lotsa cheese, macaroni (maybe) and shredded meat (more like keema) ... am I right? Me would use more of the meat ... getting hungry again! :sad:

I would not say lots of cheese. Grated cheese (about 150g) was sprinkled on top and the whole stuff was baked in oven - 18 min covered in foil, 7-8 min after removing foil till cheese became brownish. In the photo, cheese is appearing white but it was light brown.

What I cooked was Penne and not macaroni. Penne is larger ribbed pasta and diagonal cut while macaroni is smaller and curved.

I used small chunky chicken pieces although minced will do just as OK. I used Ragu sauce though purists may hate the stuff.

Recipe for the interested (serves four):
To cook Penne pasta:

1. Take about 300g of pasta and this will serve 4 people easily with some leftover for extra portions.
2. Take a large pot and fill with large amount of water.
3. Bring to boil; add salt and penne
4. Boil for 12 minutes or so till pasta is soft. Test with a fork. Pasta should be just soft and not soggy-soft.
5. Drain excess water. Add one or two tblsp of oil and mix well. This will prevent pasta from sticking.

To cook the sauce-mix:

1. Fry minced chicken/meat (if using) separately with just a tinge of oil (to prevent sticking). Minced meat already contains fat that will be released during frying.
2. Fry till golden brown.
3. Keep aside.
4. Cut two medium size onions. Some prefer chunky pieces while some prefer finely diced. For penne, I prefer finely diced.
5. Cut three large, ripe, bright red tomatoes. Again I prefer small diced pieces. Purists would recommend to de-seed also. I don't care.
6. Crush 12-15 cloves of garlic into a rough paste. No need of making fine slurry.
7. Use about 100-150 g minced chicken or meat if you like. Vegans can use mushrooms.
8. Olive oil is best for cooking but if not you can use canola oil also. Take about 5 tblsp of oil and heat in large pan or wok (kadai). You will need a large vessel to accommodate all of the above.
9. Fry the onions till golden brown.
10. Add diced tomatoes and garlic. If you have selected mushrooms or other items, add them now.
11. If you like, you can add 3 tblsp of cooking sherry also. I prefer it.
12. Immediate add a pinch each of dried basil, dried oregano, dried sage, dried, and dried parsley. A pinch means about quarter of a tea spoon. Or you can substitute all of the above with mixed dried Italian seasoning also - in this case use a teaspoon. You can change the amount based on your taste.
13. Also add salt and some chili flakes to taste.
14. Keep frying on medium heat till it tomatoes are cooked.
15. Add fried minced chicken/meat.
16. Stir fry for a minute and allow all items to mix well.
17. Add half to 2/3rd bottle of Ragu pasta sauce. Just enough to wet all ingredients. If the mix is too dry, add just a little water (no more than quarter cup).
18. Cook well till hot.

Baking:

1. Mix the pasta and the sauce-mix well.
2. Pour it into a baking pan.
3. Grate 100g of mozzarella cheese, 50g of sharp cheddar, 25g of Parmesan cheese. Mix well.
4. Sprinkle mixed cheese on pasta evenly.
5. Cover tray with aluminium foil.
6. Pre-heat over at 225 for 15 mins.
7. Insert the tray in oven. Use the bake settings, i.e., heating filaments at top and bottom should both heat.
8. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
9. Remove tray, remove foil and bake on grill mode (only top filaments) for 7-8 minutes till cheese becomes light brown.

Tip: Serve hot with a glass of Shiraz (you can choose any red wine)

 

[asliarun]

Not a pasta-type expert, but macaroni is smooth, pene is sort-of groovy! Usually cut on the diagonal too. Maybe it looks like a pen----e!

(I don't know any Italian either: pene and pen may be utterly unrelated )

You might be on to something. Penne derives from "quill" which is what everyone used to write with before someone invented the "nib" pen.

The nice thing about penne is that the sauce sticks to it better as it is grooved and not smooth.

To quote:

PENNE (MALTAGLIATI)

One of the most popular pasta types around, penne (below) means quills and refers to straight tubes of pasta cut diagonally at the ends (to resemble the end of a quill, like a quill pen). Penne 'zita' is a wider penne version.

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Nice looking dish, justforkix! There's a good food club in Pune that might interest you.

 

[gobble]

So how did it turn out? Which wine did you have?

In the last 1 year I have spent close to 7K but never liked a single bottle of wine I got. Now I am a frustrated wine drinker.

MaybeI sould open a new thread for which wine ... ?

--G0bble

 

[asliarun]

So how did it turn out? Which wine did you have?

In the last 1 year I have spent close to 7K but never liked a single bottle of wine I got. Now I am a frustrated wine drinker.

MaybeI sould open a new thread for which wine ... ?

--G0bble

Have you tried Samara White? A friend of mine who is really passionate about wines suggested it, and I haven't found a better white. Plus, it is half the price of a Sula.

 

[corElement]

I can never get enough of northern italian style pasta/spaghetti. Especially creamy mushroom spaghetti. It's one of my favourite instant foods to make.

 

[grubyhalo]

Nice thread and that pasta does look yum! Would appreciate more recommendations for good Indian wines. Also would love suggestions for 'authentic' Italian restaurants in Bangalore and Chennai that are NOT a part of a 5-star hotel. BTW, here's a ready-reckoner for pasta shapes:

http://www.foodsubs.com/PastaShapes.html

 

[just4kix]

So how did it turn out? Which wine did you have?

In the last 1 year I have spent close to 7K but never liked a single bottle of wine I got. Now I am a frustrated wine drinker.

MaybeI sould open a new thread for which wine ... ?

--G0bble

Penne turned out fine. I had it with a simple Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 that I had purchased at Trader Joe's. Nothing extraordinary but quite satisfying.

Great idea on a thread on wine. I am no expert but will contribute.

 

[stevieboy]

Good to see foodies here! I used to use bottled sauces like ragu etc but making fresh pomodoro is so easy that's what I do now. Here's an accompaniment Italian style tossed baby potatoes and green beans in a balsamic vinegar olive oil dressing and bruschetta.

Keep the pics coming!

@Grubyhalo Toscano in bangalore is the best Italian I've had. The Whitefield outlet.

 

[corElement]

My taste in wines are cheap

I like Himachal Pradesh Fruit & flower Wines by Waterfall, Rhododendron in specific.

I've had several wines upto the range of $1600 at napa valley this year in california, but I still prefer our cheap Indian Waterfall brand Rhododendron flower wine over those

 

[grubyhalo]

Damn Stevie, is that actually what you made? Looks like I'll have to visit your place just for the food, instead of your hi-fi! Thanks for the Toscano vote, will try to visit the place next time I'm in Bangalore...

 

[grubyhalo]

I've had several wines upto the range of $1600 at napa valley this year in california, but I still prefer our cheap Indian Waterfall brand Rhododendron flower wine over those

Try the Chilean (and Argentinian) wines the next time. Fantastic value for money compared to the French and American wines. My favorites were a $14 Chilean Syrah and a $12 Argentinian Malbec (from the Mendoza region, I think)...