Creamy Pasta

Pasta is a traditional Italian dish. STOP! That's what you think! Did you know that pasta is actually a descendant from the Asian noodles. Today pasta comes in many shapes and sizes. It has evolved so much that we now have 650 types of pasta. They have pretty interesting names as well...like:

penne , macaroni, and raviolli to name a few. Today, I am using penne rigate (tubular pasta with ridges) pasta to make creamy Alfredo pasta.

Another fun fact about pasta is that it literally means 'barley porridge' in Greek and 'dough pastry cake' in Latin, but however it means 'paste' in Italian, due to the way pasta is made:by mixing water and flour with a number of ingredients like butter,cheese etc .

So next time when your neighbor who just got back from a trip to Italy tells you about the wonderful pasta there, remind him/her that pasta is actually from Asia! Now without further ado lets start making this delicious delicacy!

Preparation time:30 minutes

Serves-6

Ingredients:

Penne Rigate pasta- 400 gms.

Butter-2 knobs (4 tbsp)

Maida-4 tbsp

Parmesan cheese-1/2 cup(shredded)

Oil-1 tbsp

Milk-1 1/2 cups

Carrot-1 no.

Corn-1/2 cup

Capsicum-1/2 cup

Pasta seasoning-1 tbsp.

Red chilly flakes-1/2 tbsp.

Freshly ground pepper-1/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Take a cook pot and pour water in it.

Heat the water to a rolling boil.

Add the pasta,oil and salt to taste -  let it cook till it becomes tender(you should be able to cut through it smoothly with a spoon).

Simultaneously, peal and grate the carrot and chop the capsicum thinly.

In another pan, melt 3 tbsp of butter and add maida into it,reduce the flame and mix thoroughly.

Add milk into this mixture and whisk it continuously so that there are no lumps.

Add Parmesan cheese and cook it for a few minutes until becomes a semi solid consistency.

In another pan, melt 1 tbsp of butter and saute the veggies with just enough salt for the vegs -until they are slightly cooked but still crispy.

Now, strain the pasta completely and add them into the sauce.

Then add the vegetables also into this & mix well.

Add the chilly flakes, pasta seasoning and freshly ground pepper, stir and bring the mixture to a slight boil and switch off.

Your creamy pasta is ready to be enjoyed.

Notes:

I used weikfield- penne rigate pasta, keya- pasta seasoning and chilly flakes today, along with frozen corn. You can choose what ever you prefer.

I didn't have olives at home &  due to the lock-down I didn't go out to buy, so I didn't use them in this recipe.

Cheese is optional but it gives the thick creamy texture if you add it to your dish.

if you prefer olive oil, you can use it to saute your vegs instead of butter too.

If you have broccoli and mushrooms, you can saute & add them as well to enhance the flavor of the pasta.

Also if you were wondering, the traditional name of this dish is Penne Rigate in Alfredo sauce (white sauce).

This is the youtube video from my channel of the same creamy pasta made in fusilli (shape of pasta):