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Mushroom Tortellini With Lemon Cream Sauce

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Mushroom Tortellini With Lemon Cream Sauce | The White Ramekins

The idea of buying one more machine for my little kitchen always kept preventing me from trying my hands on rolling my own fresh pasta. And I had been seriously wanting to try this out, but I was not yet ready to own a pasta rolling machine. Neither I was in a mood to clutter up the little left space. …

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Lamb Meatballs & Spaghetti

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 Lamb Meatballs & Spaghetti

Meatballs and Spaghetti is one of those Italian comfort food which would probably tempt each one of us. A heaping plate of spaghetti topped with hearty tomato sauce and flavoursome meatballs evokes the feeling of a perfect comfort food. And specifically, pasta still remains one of my easy weeknight dinner option, something which I can bank on any day. The life gets easier if I have a big bottle of pre-made passata in my fridge.

Lamb Meatballs & Spaghetti

I have seen my taste buds moving from a strong liking of white cream sauce based pasta to a lighter tangier tomato sauce one. Rather, if I put it this way, it is white sauce which I prefer during cold winter days. While on hot summer day, it is light summery tomato sauce with loads of fresh basil torn straight from balcony plant. Freshly grated Parmesan and freshly torn basil leaves just do the magic trick and make you a wonderful yet easy weeknight treat.

Lamb Meatballs & Spaghetti

This time, I made these lamb meatballs which I adapted from Donna Hay’s magazine, who herself is well known for her fast fresh and simple recipes. This one is a no brainer too, yet it is easy to fall in love with those light and summery flavours. Originally, the recipe called for beef and pork, which I have substituted with an equal amount of lamb mince meat as per my liking. If you want you can cook the meatballs to the half stage (searing in the pan) and store them in air tight container in freezer for using them later. 

Lamb Meatballs & Spaghetti

 

Lamb Meatballs & Spaghetti
Hearty lamb meatballs cooked in light and fresh tomato sauce and topped with Parmesan cheese and basil leaves.
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For meatballs
  1. 2 tbsp olive oil
  2. 500 gm lamb meat, minced
  3. 60 gm fresh white bread crumb
  4. 1/4 cup milk
  5. 1 egg
  6. 2 cloves garlic
  7. 2 tsp mixed dried herbs(oregano/sage/thyme)
  8. Crushed black pepper and salt
  9. 2 tbsp olive oil
  10. 1 onion, finely chopped
For sauce
  1. 2 tbsp tomato paste
  2. 500 gm fresh tomatoes, blanched and peeled
  3. 2 cloves garlic crushed
  4. 1/2 cup lamb stock
  5. 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  6. 1 onion, finely chopped
  7. Crushed black pepper and salt
  8. Handful of fresh basil leaves
  9. 2 tsp dried thyme
  10. Freshly grated Parmesan to serve
  11. 250 gm spaghetti
For meatballs
  1. Mix all the ingredients except olive oil very well in a large bowl.
  2. Wet your hands and roll the meatballs taking 1 tbsp of mixture at a time.
  3. Heat a large frying pan. Add oil and cook the meatballs on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, turning meatballs frequently.
  4. Take out the meatballs from pan and let cool.
For sauce
  1. Heat the oil in the same pan you cooked the meatballs. Add garlic and onions and cook them until soft, around 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar and cook for another 2 minutes.
  3. Add the fresh chopped tomatoes, stock, herbs, salt and pepper and let cook for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for another 20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.
  5. Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan with boiling water and loads of salt. Drain off the spaghetti once cooked.
  6. To serve, place the spaghetti in serving plates, top with generous amount of meatballs and sauce, followed by Parmesan and fresh basil leaves.
Adapted from Donna Hay
Adapted from Donna Hay
The White Ramekins http://thewhiteramekins.com/

Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

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Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

Pasta, as being one of my quintessential weeknight dinner, which I cook at least once a week didn’t have a post here! How could I forget about the dish which I cook quite often. Sometimes we miss the obvious things that they don’t get enough credit in our lives. I like pasta of any kind! That is true, I love it to my heart’s content. It could be related to the high carb it has to offer. And being a true north Indian, I thrive on carbs.

Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

I know you must be thinking, “Is devouring on carbs really something to brag about?” But the fact is, there hasn’t been one single day in my life when I haven’t eaten flour in one form or another. Then why not to give it’s due importance to the subject? Even for the last minute dinner parties, pasta seems to be the most reliable and stand-by option for which I don’t have to do any kind of prepping/grocery shopping. I generally use to stock everything needed for it.

Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

I gorge more on creamy cheesy alfredo sauce based pasta during winters to match the weather, while during summers, I thrive more on arabiatta or pesto sauce based varieties, which are generally lighter and induce less body heat.  And I make pesto a lot from the fresh basil leaves from my little balcony basil plant.

Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

Aromas of fresh basil leaves pounded with nuts, garlic and olive oil are so summery and light that you feel refreshing from inside out. It is so therapeutic! You can use the fresh pesto in a sandwich or throw in some pasta to make a delightful meal out of such basic ingredients. Life is as simple as that!

Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

No fuss cooking, yet simple and fresh! As the weather is amazingly pleasant these days, not sure how long it will last for, I felt like writing about my favorite Spring pasta recipe with mint and basil pesto. This one is a no-brainer! Trust me on that, all you need is freshest and the best of ingredients and you are all sorted out! And the flavors are so packed into this one simple dish, you would want to make this quite often.

Spring Pasta With Mint & Basil Pesto

Ingredients

For Pesto

1 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup blanched pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

For Pasta

300 gm conchiglie/orecchiette/farfalle pasta
100 gm sugar snap peas, trimmed
200 gm frozen peas
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup pesto
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup basil leaves
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. For pesto, grind all the ingredients in a blender to make a smooth paste.
  2. For pasta, cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes. Add the peas, snow peas and cook for another 2 minutes, until vegetables are just cooked and pasta is al dente.
  3. Drain and return to the pan and add pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado and salt and pepper and toss well to combine.
  4. Top with mint leaves, basil leaves and grated Parmesan cheese while serving. Serve with extra pesto on the side.