MY UNIQUE ITALIAN DEL MONTE PASTA WITH A DESI TWIST!

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸ Itali De Taali ~ HI5 Italy brings in me strange emotion, A place never seen, but heard of so often... Travel brochures never complete Without the impressive architectures Of Leaning tower, Roman Cathedrals Or simply Pompeii's ashen ruins... While its southern mediterranean waters beckon, Its lofty hills in full bloom mesmerizes pristine... The gondolas as they float in canals of Venice, Whiffing up romance in the air is the drive at Amalfi... The delicious flavours of pastas and pizzas, Makes one crave for yet more bites, Its thrilling gangster movies, Forever to the thrill invites... Realm of the Renaissance at Florence, and crusades Witness to gory history, as the Colosseum stands... A country small, But so much packed within, Indeed Italy stirs up passion, A place never seen, but heard of so often...

This was a poem I had written years ago, with a dream of visiting this pretty country some day. And with Del Monte knocking at my dreams I couldn't resist anymore ♡ ❤

The Award ~ Italy The Challenge ~ Make Pasta! I say bring it on... Pasta is a very versatile dish. And its true that no two pastas can ever taste the same. One can simply shuffle & play with the various ingredients and toppings to make unique pastas everyday. I tried two variants myself and both tasted supa-yummy. Recipes of both Variants are below. My secret is ~ Just play around with the ingredients, and you'll get some mouthwatering pastas for sure ;-) With Del Monte sending their pastas to try out for ourselves, I couldn't wait to get started.

VARIANT 1 : ~ Crunchy Peanutty, Schezwany and Mushroom Cheese Pasta. Well, to cook a perfect pasta is like preparing for a war albeit an 'edible' one. Like in a war, while cooking too one needs lots of tools ( knifes/peelers/smashers/ utensils etc ), weaponry ( different spices/condiments/cheese/oil etc ) and foot soldiers ( the colourful veggies that gets martyred in our quest to conquer, for taste ). So, I went about arranging just that....have a look! And this was just the tip of an Iceberg... Step 1 ~ First of all, I made a special ( 2 small ) potato+ ( handful ) peas+ ( cubes as well as parmesan ) cheese+ ( according to taste ) schezwan-sauce mixed paste for this one. First boil both peas and potato till they become soft. Mash them together adding schezwan chutney/sauce, butter, melted cheese (lots ), and Ching's chilli chicken masala. Yes, my pasta had bit of a Indo-Chinese twist too. ( To skip the chinese twist simply skip the schezwan sauce and add tomato pasta sauce instead ). When the potato-peas paste becomes smooth and buttery, squeeze bit of lemon in it, mix again and keep aside. This paste was so tasty, felt like eating it instantly. Step 2 ~ In a large flame resistant bowl, I filled water and put it to boil. Added bit of salt and olive oil, before adding the pastas in it to boil. I didn't use the whole packet, just one-third of it for single serving. [ The Del Monte packets are resealable, so you can store the unused portion back in the packet ] Adding oil ensures the pastas do not stick to each other besides adding little flavour to it as well. Though there was a recommended time given in the packet about the time needed to boil, I took out the pasta just 2-3 minutes before given time. Doing that ensures the pasta doesn't become all sticky, gluey or over cooked ( as they need to be cooked again later for a while with the veggies ). As I strained the pasta, I kept little of the remaining water aside to mix with the veggies I was about to cook. It helps in the food getting melded together. Waiting patiently, the pasta looked all coy & ready. Step 3 ~ For veggies, I used 1 green capsicum, 1 red Tomato, and lots of mushrooms (1 pkt ) along with sliced onions ( 1 ), ginger ( half inch ) and garlic ( 2 cloves ). ( Quantities used was as per single serving ). I chopped them neatly in a plate with the Pastas getting done nearby. The pretty colours tempted; getting better by the minute :-) Step 4 ~ My Pasta dish was going to have a very unique taste, so, I got on to the veggies without any more delay as well. I poured a generous amount of the Extra Virgin Olive oil in a wok, after which I added bit of whole Jeera ( Cumin ) to crackle. Sliced onion, ginger and garlic went next before some roasted and crushed peanuts ( 35gms ). Peanuts would give a totally different taste to the whole dish with its unique flavoursome crunchiness. After sauteing the mix for a while I added the chopped tomato, capsicum and mushrooms. Salt ( as per taste ) and pepper gave them company next. I also added some parsley, rosemary, basil and thyme to add more flavour. When the veggies were getting little softer I added in the strained pasta-water ( that I had retained earlier ). Putting the lid on, I lowered the flame a bit. Just as the moisture in the veggies were evaporating a bit, I added in the boiled pastas and mixed thoroughly for a while, over the flame. I switched it off, and my pasta was ready. Oh wait...not yet! Cos' fun was just beginning now... Step 5 ~ There was a 'union' to be done with the pasta and the special potato-peas sauce I had made earlier. A holy nuptial of sorts. So, taking a new bowl, I first layered a bit of the potato-peas paste at the bottom, then added some pasta over it along with grated cheese. I repeated the same again; the layers that is one top of the other, till the bowl filled to its brim. Ah...it looked delicious and was now so ready. Finally, some more cheeze and garnishing with oregano & chilli flakes, my crunchy peanutty, schezwany, mushroom cheese pasta was ready to be devoured! Buon Appetito ~ The Yummylistic Finale... Up Close and very Personal; just before it went inside my tummy

VARIANT 2 : ~ Vinegrate Carroty, Corny, Peas & Mushroomy Pasta For the 2nd recipe, I changed the veggies and ingredients a bit. I skipped the potato paste as well. For crunchiness I added in the baby corns ( that I fried ) instead of peanuts; and for uniqueness, I added in chopped pieces of pickled carrots ( vinegrated ). The rest of the process remained more or less the same as the 1st variant. And the result was Slurrp slurp...gimme more, gimme more! There goes the veggies, and the carrots tangy; next, boil the pasta in lil' bit oil & water add the masala along with heaps of cheese, and viola, the masterpiece is ready, even before you can blink! The Holy nuptial - mixing the boiled pasta with the cooked veggies in matrimony! and then... Mamma Mia Mamma Mia...mujhe raat din ab sirf, Del Monte ki yummy aur filling Pasta hi mangta! Molte Grazie Del Monte...Ti Amo, Ti Amo ~

My personal thoughts on this whole experience with Del Monte is ~ I've always been a big-time foodie, but one that only loves to eat and not necessarily cook. So, this whole experience brought out a different side of me - one whom I truly loved discovering. I've never played around with so many ingredients before in my whole life, like I did while preparing the pasta and its been real fun. Pasta is a fun dish, that lets one go ballistic with ideas and innovations infinite. So, go for Pasta, go Del Monte ♡ ❤ ♡

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