Tortellini with peas and Ham

Here it was Fathers day sunday ( I know rest of the world have next week and belgium has it one week earlier)
Shyama is having exams plus she is busy with her thesis so she is staying there a month and not comming home on weekends So we decided we will go and visit her for father's day and take her out for lunch.
So as we were any way going that side I told her I will bring for her home made ravioli. So I made ravioli with ragu sauce in a tomato sauce and I thought why not take another pasta dish and decided to buy shop bought cheese  tortellini and make a easy sauce and take that too.

So that is why the invention of this recipe as I have used ham, peas and cheese combination in pasta sauce and knew this will be very good, which I was not wrong as I did taste to see how it was before i put them in tupperware for taking with me.

Tortellini with Peas and Ham :

300 gm fresh Cheese Tortellini ( Shop bought )
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 garlic finely chopped ( optional)
100 gm peas ( I used from a can, you can use fresh or from the freezer) if you are using fresh ones or from the freezer cook them.
100 gm thinly slices Italian ham chopped
200 ml single cream
50 gm parmesan grated
Pepper and salt to taste
1 tbsp of chopped parsley

In a pan add the oil and fry the onions for few minutes , add the garlic if you are using, fry for one minute , add the ham and saute for few minutes, add the peas and the cream bring everything to boil, add pepper and salt to taste .
In the mean time cook the cheese tortellinin according the the package instruction. Drain and add to the creamy sauce, mix everything and serve sprinkled with the parsley and generous portion of parmesan cheese.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

I will be the last one to say you should not buy pesto bottles from shops, as I do that myself sometimes. I must admit I always have a bottle or two in my kitchen shelf as it is always handy when you want to make pasta or some other dishes and you need some pesto.

But I do admit it is much more delicious if you make them at home as you know the quality of the things going into the pesto.

The recipe I took for making is from Giada De Laurentis I just adjusted it a bit to my taste.
So if you want the exact recipe just click the link above.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto:

160 gm jar sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil ( I used my home made one)
3 big garlic cloves
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup parmesan.

I added every thing to my food processor and mixed for few minuted till everything was creamy.
I keep in a bottle the pesto if I don't use it the day itself.

Pasta With Bacon and Parsley

 

Usually I don't post on weekends , but this week has been super busy that I didn't even have time to come near my blog.
Shyama had planned to go to Egypt for 2 months ( not for holiday but from their university for learning there) she has been so much looking forward to that but it got cancelled again as the Professor and the University didn't want to send their students there as still there is trouble in Egypt.

So instead they will be going to different places in Europe to study.
So in February and March she will be off to university in Nederlands, then to Berlin, Leipzig and even to Brussels.
So thursday we went to pick her up from Leuven and she brought all her clothes back that I think there was clothes to wash for 10 washing machine, so the last 3 days the only thing I have been doing apart from cooking was washing, ironing, wasshing and again iroining and still it is not done.

Now enough about my life of doing laundry and to this delicious recipe.

We love this pasta and I have been making this few times these months. Could be also it is such a easy dish to make.

Serves : 2

100 gm bacon ( I buy from the shop in packest which are cut into cubes)
2 medium onions chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped fine
75 ml of white wine
1/4 heaped cup of parsely chopped fine.
Pepper and salt to taste
2 tbsp of olive oil
200 gm pasta
50 to 75 gm of freshly grated paremesan cheese.

Method:
Cook the paste according to the instruction on the packet.
In the mean time,Heat the pan with olive oil and fry the onions for few minutes till they are soft, add the bacon cubes and fry for futher few minutes. Add the garlic fry for 2 minutes then add the white while and boil for few minutes till all the wine is evaporated.
Add parsely , pepper and salt and add the cooked and drained pasta.
Keep a little bit of water were the pasta is cooked as I add couple of big tbsp of this water to the pasta dish so that it is not that dry.
Serve with generous sprinkling of paremesan cheese.

Bolognese sauce / Ragù alla bolognese

I learned to make this bolognese sauce from Hans some 22 years ago and I have been making like this from that time onwards.
I never knew anything about this sauce untill I came here and Hans was a much better cook than me actuakky I should rephrase it, I didn't know to cook at all.
So Hans who was used to make this bolognese sauce showed me how to make and then from that time onewards I have been cooking this sauce.

I must have taken the picture of the sauce in summer 2012 for adding the recipe in the blog and I remeber it was getting late and I was hurrying up to take pictures so the sauce has been only simmering for less than 2 hours and I just took some sauce from the pot and fast clicked few pics and then put the sauce back with the rest to let it simmer for more time :-)
Doing all that work I still didn't post it and now here I am writting a post with the pictures take a while ago :-)

Tip :

1. There are times when I add 100 gm of bacon into the sauce.
2. When ever I make this sauce as it takes so long to simmer I always triple the recipe or more and then freeze them in portions as I think if you are anyway going to do the work then do the work once and enjoy it later too :-)
3. There are times when I add a bit more broth, more wine etc...
4. Always simmer it for long so that the sauce gets thicker and delicious.
5. I always take my hand blender (when the long coking is done ) and give it a mix so that the sauce gets a bit smoother ( don't over mix it) The picture you see I have not used the mixer because as i mentioned i was in a hurry to take pic so took the pic fast and then put it back for futher simmering.

Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese, is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy. In Italian cuisine, it is customarily used to dress "tagliatelle al ragù" and to prepare "lasagne alla bolognese".
In the absence of tagliatelle, it can also be used with other broad, flat pasta shapes, such as pappardelle or fettuccine, or with short tube shapes, such as rigatoni or penne.
Genuine ragù alla bolognese is a complex sauce which involves slow cooking using a variety of techniques, including sweating, sautéing and braising
 Ingredients include a characteristic soffritto of onion, celery and carrot, different types of minced or finely chopped meat (generally bovine, including beef, and possibly pork, such as pancetta), wine and a small amount of tomato concentrate.
Thankyou Wiki for the information.

Ingridients:

500 gm mixed mince ( we use here beef,pork and Kalf mince)
200 ml milk
3 tbsp olive oil
3 onions peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot  peeled and finely diced
1 celery stick finley chopped
3 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
800 ml tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp mixed dried herbs ,(basil , oregano etc..)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar

350 ml Red wine
1 cup beef . chicken broth ( aprox)

Salt and pepper to taste
Hand full of chopped parsley

Method:

In a big pot add the olive oil and add the onions, when it is lightly colored add the mince meat and fry till they are light brown.
Add the milk and let it boil in a high fire till the milk is evaporated, add the red wine and cook again in a hig temperature till all the wine is almost evaporated.
Add the carrots, celery,tinned tomatoes , herbs , bay leaves ,garlic ,broth ,sugar , parsleyand salt and pepper to taste and bring it to boil.
Reduce the heat now and simmer for 3 to 4 hrs.
Serve with any kind of pasta .

Penne With Chicken Brocoli and Cheese

Here at home we love pasta. And if I am honest after rice , pasta is my second favourtie carb.
And I am always trying to find some new pasta dishes than sticking to the same ones. Well I usually do that but then suddenly I will be like I must try something new and then I try something like this dish.
Ofcourse not every body like the blue cheese like Gorgonzola so if you don't like the taste of this cheese then there is no use in trying it as you won't like it.
When I tried this cheese years ago I must say I didn't like it could be also I didn't had the habbit of eating cheese when I was in India.
But then bit by bit I started enjoying most of the cheese and one of the cheese I love now is this one.
We even have a cheesey sauce made with this cheese which we love and usually I make them when we have lamb chops .

Ingridients:

200 gm brocoli floretts
50 gm butter
2 chicken breast in small slices
2 garlic chopped fine
400 gm Penne pasta
120 ml white wine ( I usually open up a bottle and then freeze the rest of the wine in a bag so that I always have white wine for cooking when the recipe ask)
200 ml cream you wan use low fat
100 gm gorgonzola cheese without the crust.
Salt and pepper to taste ( take care there is salt in the cheese)
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top just before serving.

Cook the brocoli florettes ( I steam them) Keep them aside.
Add the butter in a hot pan when it is melted add the sliced chicken pieces with salt and pepper and fry them for couple of minutes.
In the mean time cook the pasta according to the instruction in the packet.
When the chicken is fried for few minutes add the white wine boil it for few minutes then add the cream and cook for futher for couple of minutes till the chicken is done  and the sauce is looking a bit creamy.
Add the brocoli florets and the pasta and mix it well. Then add the gorgonzola cheese and mix well.
Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and enjoy .

 

Vanilla Panna cotta with Mango Puree

I have made a lot of time variety of panna cotta.
And to be honest some of them were disaster, I do exactly what the recipe saya and they dodnt set sometimes so even though it is such a easy dessert to make every time when I try a new recipe I am always checking to see if it is set or not.
There is nothing worse than making a dessert and then when it is time to serve to your guest you find out that you dessert is not good.
It has happend to me a couple of time and I curse my self for not sticking to the recipe I know which works than trying a new one.

And this recipe for pannacotta works very good.
Main problem I think is the gelatine, when the recipe says gelatine leaves, how do you know how much is the measurement as different brands I have noticed different lenght etc........
So I have given the gms from the packet of the gelatine I used in the recipe, so you can weigh them what ever brand gelating you use.
One ;ain thing is dont be tempeted to add more gelatine, nothing worse than having a rubbery pannacotta and less gelatine as I said they wont be set perfect.

I have tried this recipe couple of times and every time it sets not too runny and not too rubbery.
You can stick to the Vanilla pannacotta recipe exactly and then for the toppingm do what ever fruit you want or topping you want.
I had to hurry up to take the picture as ther ewas only one left and If I didnt hurry that would have been gone too.

Depending on how many you want to serve you can double or triple the recipe.

 



Ingridients for pannacotta

150 ml milk
150 ml cream
50 gm sugar
1/2 vanilla stick
2 gelatine leaves ( the packet I used had 9 leaves and the whole pack of 9 weighed 17 gm, and it is from this pack I used 2 gelatine leaves. So as i am bad in Maths just divide and do the correct amount)

Heat the milk and cream together in a pan with the sugar and the vanilla stick.
When the mix start to boil, less the fire to minimum and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
In the mean time soqk the 2 gelating leaves in a bowl with cold water +/- 4 minutes, when they are soft squeeze the leaves so all the water is drained and add to the milk/cream mix after the 5 minutes of simmer.
Mix every thing well, take out the vanilla stick , ( scrape all the seeds from inside and put the seeds back into the mix and then pour in individual glasses and chill atleast for couple of hours.

Before serving use any fruit as topping.
I used mango, as I only had frozen mango I mixed them into a smooth paste adding a little mago syrup ( I think frozen mangoes are not that sweet) and pour over the top of the pannacotta and serve.
If you are using fresh sweet mango you dont have to add the syrup.



Creamy Pasta With Salmon and Chives

In my laast post which was Fresh home made pasta I had mentioned my next post will be what I have made with the delicuous home made pasta.
Well one of the dishes I made with them is this super creamy delicious pasta dish with salmon.
Ok I have made something else too, but that will be for the next post :-)

I think making this salmon dishe with fresh pasta made it double delicious.
In my pasta book it was written as the fresh pasta don't swell up you need to use 125 gm pasta per person.

Ingridients.

2 table spoon of olive oil
1 big onion finley chopped
2 tabls spoon of tomato paste
1 big garlic cloves choppes very fine or into paste
2 tbsp of sun dried tomatoes in oil thinly sliced. ( I use my home made ones )
100 ml Dry Vermouth ( if you don't have this you can use good white wine)
200 ml cream
100 ml fish / chicken stock
400 gm fresh pasta ( of course you can use dry ones)
200 gm fresh salmon diced
3 table spoon of chopped chives
Salt and peper to taste

Heat the oil in pan add the onions and fry till golden brown.
Add the tomato paste and garlic, fry for few minutes make sure you do'nt burn them.
Add the vermouth ( be carfull) stir, then add the stock, cook for few minutes.
Add the sun dried tomatoes, cream, parsely, pepper and salt to taste. Add the salmon pieces as they are cut into small pieces it will only take a minute or two to cook and any way it will continue to cook when you add the cooked pasta.

In the mean time boil water in a big pan and cook the pasta, if it is fresh pasta it will only take 3 minutes to cook, and if you are using dry pasta cook according to the instruction in the packet.
When the pasta is cooked drain and add to the pan with the sauce and mix everything good and serve with a sprinkle of chives and if you want you can slice extra sun dired tomatoes and add .

 

Pasta With Sundried Tomatoes, Rosemary and Pinenuts

First time when we went to Italy, we travelled around , well not all over Italy but we did went to couple of places as we where there for 15 days.
And when we were in Rome we went to this shop filled with lots of goodies and there we bought few packs of sundried tomatoes ,and when we came back home I added some into olive oil and from that time onewards I always have a bottle in my kitchen shelf.

And then we went back to Rome as a specail treat for Shyama as she got 18 and we went back to the same shop and bought a whole load of sundried tomatoes.

I do have to admit they are almost finished ( well still have two packs left).

So the first trip we went, Hans took us the second evening to a restaurant as he had been to this place during one of his concert trips and according to him the food was super yumm.
I do have to agree to him, the food there was so good that we went back to the same place couple of evening and then when we made the trip to Rome again we went to the same place again for few times, so the last evening we went to this place again and the owner of the shop offered us free drinks as she said you all have been comming here so many times.
But then Hans would disagree he would say she only gave the free dirnks becaus he was so charming to her :-) and to that I replied to him you cann be charming as much as you want as long as I get free drinks :-)

Ok so this Rosemary-Sundried pasta I ate there and I fell in love with it and I remember ordering it again while we went there.
When we got back home I wanted to recreate the dish here at home and that is exactly what I did.
So the recip is not from a book or magazine , I just created it according to how it tasted when I ate it.
Oh and it is really good as I have been laking this pasta for the last 3 year

Another reason to have this post is because Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen, which I am certain most of you will know her through her wonderful and beautiful blog, is starting with photography Excersie.
Which I think is a wonderful idea, and every month she will be giving new excercise.
So if you are intrested in improving your photographic skills which I am sure you all are, then do participate.
You will find the information here

I do have to say I took the pictures before I read the whole post in detail, so I didn't use a tripod. So you can see the two pictures are not taken in the exact position that will teach me to read the whole detail than hurrying up with the project.
The left side pic f / 4.5  ,  Shutterspeed 1/125s and ISO is 200
The right side pic f / 2 , Shutterspeed 1/ 500s and ISO is 200

I always take my pictures near to a huge window, especially as it is still dark and dull weather here so I get enough light , also use a white board on left side to reflect the light.

Now to the recipe.
For 3 person:
300 gm dry pasta
4 to 5 tbsp sundried tomatoes slices ( don't slice them thin, slice them in chunks)
Couple of sprigs of Rosamary ( you might think it is too much while you make the sauce it won't be, it is to flavour the sauce and while eating the dish you pick out most of it)
2 to 3  large onion chopped
6 to 8 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves finley chopped
1 tsp chilie flakes or according to your taste ( i usually add more)
Couble of  tbsp fresh parsley chopped
2 to 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
Pepper and salt to taste
1/4 cup grated paremesaan cheese.More if you love cheese like in my family so i would opt for more :-)

Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions fry for few minutes add the chillie flakes and garlic and fry for a minute or two.
Add the rosemary and parsley,  sundried tomatoes salt and pepper. Fry for few  minute.

In the mean time cook the pasta according to the packet and drain , I always keep a cup of pasta water aside.
Add the pasta, few tablspoon of cheese and the pinenuts to the pan and mix everything together. If the mix is too dry add a couple of tbsp of pasta water to loosen it up.
Serve  sprinkling with the parmesan cheese.
I also usually add a tbsp of olive oil on each plate before serving too.

Pollo al Marsala con pinoli e uve sultanina

Hi hi actually in the magazine it is written in English and Italian but I coudn't resist to write the title in Italian :-) well it means according the magazine, Marsala Chicken with pine nuts and sultanas.

Marsala is a winein the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily.

While the city's natives sometimes drink "vintage" Marsala, the wine produced for export is universally a fortified wine similar to Port. Originally, Marsala wine was fortified with alcohol to ensure that it would last long ocean voyages, but now it is made that way because of its popularity in foreign markets.

Marsala contains about 15-20% alcohol by volume. Different Marsala wines are classified according to their color, sweetness and the duration of their aging.

Thankyou Wiki for all the information.
You want to make a creamy Chicken Marsala Dish then try out my earlier recipe here.

This is yet another recipe from one of my favourite Magazine Taste Italia.

I have mentioned before I every month when I get the magazine I try to do atleast one dishe from that month.

And I have to say I was not at all disapointed with this dish, we loved it.

I serve it with potato croquetts.



3 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken pieces, such as thighs and breasts, skin left on ( I used a whole chicken which I cut in pieces) sprinkle with peper and salt

2 medium onions finley chopped

2 carrots finley chopped

2 celery sticks finley chopped ( I used white celery)

350 ml Chicken marsala

Salt and peper

50 gm pine nut, toasted

50 gm sultanas

a handful of flat leaf parsley finley chopped.

Heat the oil in a large cast iron pan or casserol over a medium heat.

Add the chicken pieces, and cook about 10 minutes turning them once or twice, untill they are golden all over.

Remove the chicken pieces from the pan.

Reduce the hat to low. Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pan, then sweat gently for a few minutes, untill soft.

Pour in the marala, pu the chicken back in the pan, then simmer gently for about 30 minutes, topping up with water a litle at a time if it begins to dry out, but don't add too much  because it should be fairly dry and the ater will dilute the flavour. Add peper and salt according to your taste.

Stir through the pine nuts and sultanas and cook for a few more minutes.

(When I cooked the chicken I covered loosley with a lid, this was not in the recipe)

Just before serving stir through the parsley.



Creamy Chicken Marsala

Last year when Shyama started her first year of college , I used to make this for her very often and give in a tupperware when seh went sunday evening to her place so she could have it there.

So every sunday morning Iwill be busy preparing some of the food she likes to take with her.
This dish is so easy that I think she got it almost every two weeks as I can make this in a flash.
I am sure I took this picture month ago when I made this for her.

So last month when she started her second here I was planning to make this again and I heard Hans saying ( not that he was eating this every two weeks) You are not going to make this again so many time like last year for her.
So i have to admit I haven't made this for her this college year.
I am posting this recipe now as my Sister has been asking me for a while to post this recipe as she wanted to make it.

I saw this dish once in a Cooking show from BBC and I have been making this from that time on wards.
They are so easy to make.
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
All-purpose flour, for dredging
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil you can use less too
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine ( I  have to say I don't measure it i just pour it straingt )
1/2 cup chicken stock ( I do add leese stock as I add cream )
1/4 to 1/2 cup cream.
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley


Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.

Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in the pan.
 Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol.
Add the cream, boil to mae the sauce thicker.
 Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.
I always serve this with Mash potato.

Panino con pollo al pesto, mozzarella e zucchini

Doesn't that sounds so so delicious, I mean the name, well it is just Chicken pesto,mozzarella and courgette panino in English. Not that i know Italian, I just wrote what they said in the book. The recipe is from Taste Italia Magazine which I have a subscription.
We have decided here at home that I should make something from the magazine when I receive them in my post.
I think it is a good idea otherwise I look to the book and then tell in my mind hmmmmm I should make this and that but then forget all about it.
So this is what we had yesterday evening as dinner with a glass of Rosie Wine.

Serves 2

1 large Chicken breast

125 gm mozarella sliced

2 to 3 tbsp oilve oil

2  to 3 heaped tbsp basil pesto ( you can use shop bought one) I used home made

1 courgette/Zucchini

2 large Ciabatta roll

Salt and freshly ground black peper

Begin Slicing the large chicken breast into four thing seaks.

Slice the courgette very thinly with a mandolin or a harp knife.

Brush the courgette and chicken with oilive oil, then season.

Griddle the chicken and courgette for 3 to 4 minutes in each side, untill cooked through.

You may need to do in batches if you don't have a large griddle pan.

Cut the ciabatta rolls in half and place them on teh griddle pan for 1 to 2 minutes, untill they begin to color on the inside.

To assemble the sandwich, layer the courgettes on the bottom, top with chciekn breast and then add sliced mozarella.

Finally spoon over the pesto, season and serve hot.



Fig Prosciutto and Rocket Bruschetta

For years we have the tradition here at home making some snack for friday evening.

And now it is more important as Shyama is in College and she only comes home on friday evening for the weekends.

So this is what I made yesterday , well at last I made something which is healthy that deep fried for a snack :-)

It is a easy recipe and I got it from Taste italia Magazine.

I am only posting it so fast as I tool the pic in the evening and I have been trying myhand on taking pictures with artificial light other wise i can never post anything which I make in the evening.

1 Ciabbatta bread, I sliced what ever shape you want. ( I drizzeled a bit of olive oil in each slicze before baking them in the oven)

2 to 3 ripe figs

Oilive oil  and balsamic vinegar. There is jo measurement give in the recipe so i just did according to my taste.

hand full of rocket /rucola salade

1 pack of proscuitto

salt and freshly ground pepeer

Preaheat the oven to 200°c.

Cut the bread according to your liking.

Place the bread in a baking tray and bake in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes .

Cut the figs into quaters or eights depending on the size.

Season , then toss in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Add a large handfull of rocket salade to the mix.

Once you have removed the bruschetta from the oven, drape two thin slice of prosciutto on top of each piece.

Arrange the fig and the salade and serve.

Linguine con asparagi, pancetta e limone

Doesn't that title sounds so sexy :-) well actually it is just Asperagus,pancetta and lemon linguine :-)
For the last two weekends ( this weekend ) it has been just Shyama and I at home. As hubby was gone out of Belgium.

Ofcourse when he is not home I do miss him.
But it has been also very good just to spend time with Shyama alone.

Not that we have been going to the next city for spending a whole afternoon looking to the shops and going to a coffee shop etc... which we would have loved to, but she will be soon having exams next months and these days weekends are spend learning especially saturday.
The weekend when it was Mother's day we had a cosy dinner and then late evening we made a cocktail and enjoyed and watched a luvvy duvvy mocie which we usually won't watch when hubby is there as he thinks it is too musshy, well S also thinks when I choose to see a musshy movie but then as she do love a romantic movie even though she woudn't admit to that :-)
So now to the recipe.
Ok we love Asperagus, green and the white variety.
When I say we I mean hubby and me not S. She fished out all the asperagus and gave it to me.
So now that it isin full season I thought I will make something with them before I start moaning that the season is gone and that I didn't make anything with them when I had the chance.

This is a recipe from Taste Italia Magazine.
Sending this delcious pasta to Pasta presto Nights and the host is Cassie, of the Kitchen Alchemist.
Serves 4

250 gm Pancetta cubed. ( I bought from the delli in one fat piece and cubed them myself)
One onion finley chopped
1 garlic finley chopped
250 gm Green Aspergus, woody ends trimmed, spears cut into small pieces.
350 gm dried Linguine ( I didn't have them so used normal pasta)
200 ml double cream
200 ml Cream fraiche ( if you don't get them you can use sour cream)
2 large egg yolks
40 gm Parmesan grated plus extra to serve
Grated zest of one lemon
Salt and freshly ground peper.

1. Heat a frying pan. And add the pancetta.
You will not need any oil as there is a lot of fat in pancetta.
Fry the pancetta really crispy, remove them with a slotted spoon and keep in a plate.
Add the onions and garlic in the pan fry them for few minutes , add the asperagus and fry them for few minutes untill it has begun to soft. Add the fried pancetta back to the pan.
2. In the mean time bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the pasta annd cook according to the packet instructions, but cook it for a minute or two less, so it is little under done.
3. Mean while mix together the double cream, cream fraiche,egg yolks, parmesan and lemon zest in a bowl,then season with salt and peper.
4. Drain the cooked pasta, make sure to keep a bit of the pasta water, so you can add to the dish if needed.
5. Add the pasta to the pan together with the sauce mis and give it a good mix untill it is evenly incorporated and all the ingridients are cooked. If you need add a bit of the pasta water which we kept aside.
Serve with a good grating of parmesan chees and black pepper.

.

Pasta with Artichoke, Mushrooms and caramalized onions



I regularly buy food magazines and I also have subscription to some food magazine which I really look forward to get in the post.
So you can Imagine how much food magazines I have here at home. And I dont throw them away, why should you, they are like cooking books but then in form of magazine.
So last month I was looking to one of th  magazine I got and I saw a recipe for pasta wish mushroom and artichoke etc...........and showing to hubby saying I should make this, ofcourse hubby was really excited that I am planning to make a totally new pasta dish.
After few weeks I said Ok now I will make that new pasta dish I saw in the magazine, just that I didnt know which magazine it was and I told hubby well it was a pasta dish so it has to be in the Italian magazine I get. So I was looking to all the magazine page by page nothing to find and then ofcourse hearing me grumbling, hubby said he will look as I must have missed it but he also didnt find, so all this was happening in the evening and then in the end we deicided to go for sleep, next day I got up and told hubby it could be in a another magazine and indeed it was, I took another bunch of magazine and in few minutes I found this recipe back to both our delight.
We both loved the pasta dish, I had some left over well much more as the recipe was for four so I took the rest to my in laws place, MIL lloved it but my niece didnt like it, saying she didnt like arichoke etc.....
So I guess if you dont like the ingridients you should not make it :-)

The recipe is from Delicious Magazine
Sending this delicous pasta dish to

 Presto Pasta Nights organised by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast which is hosted at Maison Cupcake this week.

Serves 4-6
500 gm spaghetti
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large red onion slices
250 gm Chesnut mushroom quaterd
200 gm marinated artichoke hearts quaters ( you can buy in bottle from the shop)
300 gm large tomatoes , skinned , desseeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves finley chopped
200 ml white wine
100 ml single cream
Hand full of finley chopped parsley, I didnt have i used fried.
50 gm parmesan, shaved

Cook the spaghetti according to the pack instruction. Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat the oilve oil in a large saucepan and fry the onione ofr 10 minutes over a low heat.
After the 10 minutes increase the temperature, add the garlic and then the mushroom , the wine and cook for 6 to 8 minutes.
Then add the tomatoes, artichoke pieces and cook for 5 minutes more.
Add the cream and parsley
Season with peper and salt.
Mis in the cooked spaghetti.
Serve in a bowl sprinkled with the parmesan shavings.
Will post the step by step pics later.
I am taking a week holiday from blogging and blog hopping, hubby is in holiday .