Spring Onion Pesto Cream Penne

                                                  

Spring Onion Pesto Cream Penne

Italian cuisine is one of my favourites. More so because I get to  drink Wine with it each time I eat an Italian delicacy. cheers!!

This is my easy to go pasta each time I crave for something green and fresh. Whenever we go out to eat, we end up spending a good amount of money on food and because I am a foodie, I love to explore each and every restaurant, cafe, lounge, Bar etc in the vicinity. Hence, by the end of the month, I am left with no choice but to eat at home. So while toying with this idea of how to eat without spending so much, I though to myself why not cook all those delicious things at home and enjoy them at almost 1/2 the price.

So here goes my first of many recipe's. Just when you are in the mood for a quickie. Only takes about 15 minutes to cook unless you are making your own pasta sheets. And I absolutely relish this one. So here is what you need if you’re making for 2 people.

Cooking time : 30 minutes

Ingredients - 

Garlic cloves

100 gas fresh basil leaves

10-12 Roasted pine nuts (you can Substitute that with roasted peanuts/pistachio/walnut)

4 tbsp olive oil

1tsp salt

 ½ tsp Black pepper

Chilli flakes

3-4 stems of spring onion, a small capsicum

100 grams cream

1 cup milk

1cup mozzarella cheese-grated.

Method:

Take a large vessel filled with water and bring it to boil. Add uncooked pasta, ½ tsp salt,a bit of olive oil to it. Boil it till its half cooked but not too sticky. Drain the par boiled pasta on the sieve (chalni) and run it under water so that it doesn't get cooked anymore with the steam. keep it aside. Now, Add basil leaves, few garlic cloves, roasted pine nuts, 3 tbsp olive oil to the mixer and make a thick paste. Add oil & finely chopped garlic to a cold pan and put it on flame. Cook the garlic till golden brown. Add Spring onion, capsicum and sauté it. Then add cream, cheese, Milk and  3-4 tbsp of pesto sauce, salt and pepper. Stir the mixture well and add drained pasta to it.Toss well and Garnish it with Basil leaves, chilli flakes and a dash of grated mozzarella cheese.

P.S - You can sauté chopped chicken pieces with garlic and make it a chicken pesto or add sauté mushrooms & broccoli to it.

Enjoy your pasta with a slice of garlic bread on the side.

Happy cooking !