Boiling pasta:
a. Don’t add extra virgin olive oil in the water when boiling pasta. It is a waste of good olive oil without adding any benefit.
b. Make the water come close to boil in a large open pot, add good amount of salt and then add pasta.
c. Constantly stir the pasta. It is especially important for the first few minutes.
d. Don’t over boil it. I found the best way is to take one pasta, cool it down a bit and taste it yourself to see when it is done.
e. Remove the extra water and wash the pasta with cold water to remove extra starch if necessary.
Tips:
a. As a rule of thumb, better the cheese, better the pasta.
b. Add the hard cheese (Like parmesan or cheddar) first and add the soft cheese like Mozzarella just before the final stir and removing it.
Don’t add the following to preserve the Italian taste
a. Indian spices like turmeric powder, Jeera, any of the things in garam masala (Except probably cinnamon if you like)
b. Any kind of oil other than olive oil. Do not use extra virgin kind if you plan to deep-fry the stuffs.
c. Chilli powder (Well it is ok but still better to use green chilies and sauces like Tabasco
Here is one recipe (You can add/remove items as you like)
Ingredients:
Pasta (About 3 and half cups)
Onion (1) [Chopped but not too small]
Spring onions (2) [Chopped]
Broccoli (half cup) [Chopped but not too small]
Yellow bell paper (1) [Chopped in 1’’ cubes]
Green bell paper (1) [Chopped in 1’’ cubes]
Tomato (2) [Chopped in 1’’ cubes]
Green chili (4) [Chopped]
Cream (2 tbsp.)
Tomato sauce (2 to 3 tbsp.)
Olive oil (3 tbsp.)
Salt (to taste)
Garlic powder (1/2 tsp) [You can use fresh minced garlic that would have better flavour. ]
Dried parsley (1 tea spoon)
Cheese 1 (Parmigiano Reggiano) (Replace it with parmesan or any other solid cheese) [ ¾ cup shredded]
Cheese 2 (Vintage Cheddar) (1/2 cup Shredded)
Wine-vinegar (1 tsp) (Optional but adds a nice flavour to it)
Process:
Take a pot and put loads of water and bring it to boil. Add 1tbsp of salt. Put the pasta in it. Boil for about 6 minutes (It varies on the type of pasta you are using) always continue stirring. (To me, the best way to make sure you don’t over boil the pasta is to take out one, put in cold water and taste it.). Once the pasta is done drain the excess water and put it into a wide plate. Let it cool for a few minutes, rinse it in cold water to get rid of extra starch. Let it dry for a few minutes.
Put a deep frying pan in high heat and put some olive oil in it. Fry the onions and broccoli for about 2 minutes. Put the chopped bell papers. Then fry some more. Put the spring onions. Put the tomatoes. Add some salt depending on your taste. Add some garlic powder. Put the cream in it. Stir. After a few minutes reduce the heat and put the pasta in it. Put the tomato sauce in it. Stir a bit to coat the pastas. Add cheese 1. Stir. Add the chopped green chilies and wine-vinegar. Add some of the parsley. Turn of the heat.
While serving, sprinkle it with cheese 2. (Cheddar or any other hard cheese) and parsley.
*tbsp. -> table spoon (about 3 tea spoon)
tsp -> tea spoon
** I think it would be better to add the spring onions at the end so they don’t lose their flavour.
