CREAMY VEGETABLE PASTA

Ingredients:
Any shape pasta - 1lb
Zucchini - 1
Broccoli - 2 big florets
Red bell pepper - 1/2
Green bell pepper - 1/2
Corn kernel - 1/2 cup
Mushrooms - 4-5, I used canned
Butter - 1 tbsp
Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 3-4, finely chopped
Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Black pepper - 1/8 th tsp
Salt
Cream - 1/2 cup
Freshly chopped parsley - 1-2 tbsp
Grated Parmesan cheese - 2-3 tbsp

Cooking Procedure:
Wash all the vegetables. Clean the mushroom using a damp towel. Cut the zucchini, red bell pepper, green bell pepper into small pieces, as shown in the picture. Seperate the florets of the brocolli.

In a big pot bring 5-6 cups of water to a boil. Add 2 tsp of salt to it and add the pasta. Cook the broccoli for a minute and keep aside. Cook the pasta as per the package instructions. Drain the water and keep aside.

In a big pan, heat the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and let cook for 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and let cook till the mushrooms gets soft. Then add the zucchini, bell peppers, corn kernels, dried oregano, salt and black pepper. Mix everything well and let cook for 2 minutes. Don't over cook the vegetables. Then add the red chili powder. Then add the cream and mix everything well. Then add the paste and broccoli. Mix well and then finally add the cheese and parsley. Serve hot.

SARSON KA SAAG

Sarson (mustard greens) – 1 bunch
Radish greens – 1 bunch
Spinach – 5 oz, 142 gm box
Methi – 1 small bunch
Onion - 1 ½ medium size, chopped
Ginger – 1 ½ “
Garlic – 5-6
Green chilies – 1-2
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Asafetida – a pinch
Red chili powder – ½ tsp
Yellow corn flour – 1 ½ tbsp
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
This is how the sarson greens looks like

Blanch the sarson, radish greens, spinach and keep aside to cool. To blanch the vegetables take a big pot full of water and bring it to a boil. Add the vegetables one at a time and let it stay in boiling water. Sarson and radish greens needs more time to blanch so keep it for 2 minutes and spinach for a minute. All the greens should retain their green color. Then transfer the vegetables to iced water. Then drain the water and puree them. Grind ginger garlic and green chilies to a paste.
Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the chopped onion and sauté till translucent. Then add ginger garlic green chili paste and fry for a minute. Then add turmeric powder, asafetida, red chili powder and salt. Mix everything well. Then add the pureed vegetables. Mix well and bring it to a boil. Dissolve the corn flour in a cup of water. Remove the pan from heat and add the corn paste to the vegetables mixing continuously for a minute, so that lumps are not formed. Return the pan to heat and let cook on medium heat for 5-10 mins. Serve hot with a tablespoon of butter and makai (corn) roti.

VEGETABLE AND PESTO PASTA

For Pesto
Fresh basil – 2 cups
Fresh parsley – 1 cup
Garlic cloves – 4-5
Walnuts – 1 ½ cups, toasted
Extra virgin olive oil – ½ cup
Salt – 1 tsp
Parmesan cheese – 1 cup
Pepper to taste

For pasta:
Penne pasta – ½ lb
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 2-3 cloves
Carrot – 2 small, chopped
Red bell pepper – 1 big, chopped
Broccoli florets – 2-3 cups
Salt
Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp
Red chili flakes – ¼ tsp
Extra virgin olive oil – 1 tsp
Pesto sauce – 3-4 tbsp or as required
Grated mozzarella cheese – ½ cup

Cooking Procedure:
To make the pesto, place the basil, parsley, garlic cloves in the food processor and pulse it for a few times, till it gets roughly chopped. Then add the walnuts, cheese and pulse for few more minutes. Add the olive oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir in salt and pepper. You can store the pesto in a glass jar, in the refrigerator of a week or in the freezer of about four months. Thaw the frozen pesto and add to the desired recipe. You can add the thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto, to avoid oxidation and turning the upper layer into black color.
Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Blanch the broccoli by adding salt to the boiling water. Then add the broccoli floret and boil them for a minute. Then transfer to the ice bath to stop cooking. In the same pot add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 425F.
Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic. Sauté the garlic for a minute and then add the onion, salt and pepper. Fry the onion on medium heat till they become translucent, stirring occasionally. Then add red chili flakes, carrot and red bell pepper. Mix everything well and let cook till the carrots are half cooked. Then add the broccoli florets and mix everything well. Stir in the pesto sauce. Add the boiled pasta to the vegetables and mix everything well. If you think the pasta looks dry, then add a laddle full of water in which you are boiling pasta.

Transfer the pasta to oven safe dish and sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on the top. Bake the pasta till the cheese gets melted and crust is formed on the top. Serve hot. In this recipe you can make the pasta a day ahead and before you serve, top it with mozzarella cheese and bake it. This was a recipe given to me by my friend, she also added zucchini chunks.