Penne Pasta in Pink/White Sauce

My Journey with Pasta has been a bitter sweet one and dates back to the time when we were kids. Pasta wasnt a fad back then. I remember we used to call them simple macaroni. And whenever mom would prepare it or mention it I would go meh! Rubbery white things with no taste what so ever and looking like a snail, how appetizing can it be to a 5 year old.

That impression of pasta had stayed back in the mind somewhere. So when the world was going ga ga over pastas I hardly had any interest. Then came the time when I finally decided to give the Sunfeast ready to cook pasta a try. I was told the white sauce one was good. And guess what I was greeted with the same macaroni shaped pasta. After staring at them for a whole minute I thought fine lets give it a try. And I loved the result. Creamy, buttery soft pasta. Thats probably the first time I felt good about this particular dish.

A lot of time passed in between, and my pasta pangs were only limited to the ready to cook pasta. Until recently when a group of friends went to Sundarban hotel beside the Osho Commune in Koregaon Park, Pune. It was a veg restaurant and we sat in the open seating space. There was an assortment of various cuisines and we decided to go for Italian. It was thin crust pizza with all the works and 'pink' pasta. That was the first time I ever came to know that something as a pink pasta also exists. It was a custom order -"Load it with all the vegetables you have with a pink sauce". I was curious for the outcome and finally when it arrived it looked gorgeous. The sauce looked coral coloured and the greens of zucchini and broccoli gave it a contrasting hue. About the taste I can only say, I had never tasted anything so heavenly in Italian before.

That dish made me totally fall in love with pasta and was also the main inspiration behind me trying the following recipe for the first time. And i was pretty happy with the outcome. Have a look!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes  
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients:

Pasta & Vegetables:

• Penne Pasta or any Pasta - 1 and 1/2 cup
• Zucchini - 1/2 cup chopped
• Broccoli - 1/2 cup chopped
• Mushroom - 1/2 cup chopped
• Salt as per taste
• Refined Oil/ Olive Oil
• Butter - 1 tsp
• Garlic - 7-8 cloves finely chopped

White/Pink Sauce

• Tomato  - 1 medium made into paste
• Full Cream Milk - 1 cup (250 ml) - milk should be warm
• Fresh Cream - 4 tbsp
• Corn Flour - 1 tbsp 
• Garlic - 1 clove (minced)
• Black Pepper - 10-12 (ground coarsely)
• Paprika or Red Chilli Flakes - 1/2 tsp
• Dried Oregano or pizza seasoning) - 1 tsp
• Butter - 2 tbsp
• Processed Cheese - 1/4 cup
• Fresh Basil - 3-4 leaves (optional)
• Sugar as per taste
• Salt as per taste

Procedure
1. Boil the raw pasta according to the instructions given on the package or you can follow the following instructions : Take about 8-10 cups of water in a deep bottomed pan. Bring it to boil and when its boiling add the raw pasta and add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of refined oil. Boil the pasta until al-dente (having a slight bite and not very soft). Ideally the pasta should be cooked for 11 minutes stirring occasionally. to check if he pasta is cooked lift one pasta in the fork and take a bite. If its slightly firm but breaking then its properly cooked. If its too hard to bite then it needs more cooking.

Note: You can use whole wheat pasta to make it healthier and kid friendly 

2. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large colander and drain the water. Run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process. Sprinkle a little oil and toss the pasta. Keep aside

3.  Heat 2 tsp of oil in a skillet and add the broccoli. Add a pinch of salt to make it cook faster. Toss the broccoli and cook till its crunchy but cooked. It will take around 2-3 minutes with lid on. Keep it aside

Note: Since Broccoli is harder than either of Zucchini and Mushroom hence I sauteed them separately.

4.  In the same skillet, add about 2 tsp butter and let it heat. Add the chopped garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes till fragrant. Toss in the mushroom and Zucchini and fold in. Cook for about 2-3 minutes and both Mushroom and Zucchini will start wilting. Add the cooked broccoli. Saute all of it for a minute and turn off the heat. Don't put a lid on at this stage as the enclosed steam might impact the vibrant green of the veggies. 


Note: If you are using shrimp, this is he stage to add. Make sure you have selected small shrimps.  Clean and de-vein the shrimp. Toss in the raw shrimp while sauteing the vegetables. It will get cooked in the same heat and will not loose the flavor or become rubbery. Add a little more butter if u want to enhance the flavor

5. Take two table spoon of butter in a pan. When its sizzling add two cloves of finely chopped garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes. 

6. Add the tomato paste at this stage and saute till the raw smell goes off. 

7. Then add the cornflour. If you are using any white pasta mix you can add 1 tbsp of it at this stage. 

8. Add full cream milk and keep stirring till it thickens. Add fresh cream and shredded cheese and fold in. Let the cheese melt and the sauce thicken a bit. About a minute or two.

9. Add the ground black pepper, oregano/pizza seasoning and chilli flakes at this stage and mix everything. Adjust the salt and sugar level at this stage.

10. Add the cooked pasta and vegetables and fold in everything. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the pasta sauce coats the pasta and vegetables uniformly.

Dish out the pasta into a pasta plate, give a slight drizzle of virgin olive oil and serve hot.

Pasta Pointers:

• Pasta should be prepared just before serving it.

• Pasta needs a lot of water and a deep bottomed pot. Trying to cook pasta in a shallow pan and less water will make them stick together. Always follow cooking instructions on the pasta packet for best result.

•  Adding salt to the water makes pasta taste better by bringing out the natural flavor of the pasta.

• Drain the pasta immediately when it has reached correct firmness. This will stop the cooking process

• The Italians way is to toss pasta with just enough sauce to coat it, not make a gravy of it