Homegrown Basil’s Pesto with Pasta

So my favourite cook #NimalThadani is visiting us for just 2 nights and it would be a shame if I do not use her to populate my blog. She is super critical and deservingly so, thus taking a back seat is the most amiable option for all members in the kitchen.

As instructed, all my ingredients were arranged and ready for the show.
Had to step out to get some fresh Parmesan cheese to refill my gourmet refrigerator.

Required:
Fresh Sweet Basil Leaves, 2 cups (washed and dried)
3-4 Garlic Cloves
12-15 Peppercorns
Extra Virgin Olive oil, 1/2 cup
Parmesan Cheese 1/4 cup
Pine nuts, 3 tbsps
Salt to taste
Penne pasta, 1.1/2 cups

Prepration:
De-stem the basil leaves and add them to a small grinder. Add the garlic cloves and pepper corns and grind along.

Once coarsely ground, add the extra virgin olive oil and churn further, now add the grated cheese and salt to taste. Grind for a few more seconds and this aromatic paste is ready to serve or preserve.
Boil the pasta with 1 teaspoon of oil and a little salt.

Once done, strain and put it over a serving dish retaining maybe just 2 tbsp of water. Add the Pesto and toss well.

Garnish with some more cheese, pepper and a few strings of coloured peppers.

Dressed and Severed with some white wine.

Pesto once made in abundance, can be used as a dip, in a sandwich with grilled veggies and much more.

“Looks do Matter on the Platter”

There is always a right dress for every occasion, just like that there is a right platter for every dish. The gotta-have’em stilettoes, a trendy neck string and a tan sling bag, it’s the accessories that can make or break an outfit. While looks CAN be deceptive, this saying can certainly not be applied to cooking. Food that looks pretty does add to the sensory appeal of a DISH.

My cooking is never complete without having thought of the right garnish and the apt. serving platter. To make food look good, a regular HOME cook need not know vegetable carving or meat sculpting. All it takes is some imagination and definitely a dash of EXTRA EFFORT.

There are a few simple things, if kept in mind can add finesse and do the trick. In my opinion (which aren’t of any experts) Every Dish has a Dress!

1) The Choice of Platters: Stocking your pantry is like stocking your wardrobe – it’s smart to have items on hand that serve double duty. Flat plates in different shapes and sizes are my favourite to serve a variety of tapas. A deep salad bowl, a cheese platter, an olive sampler, a bread-basket and small dip dishes are some must haves too.Since the visual appeal here is the key, I like to use white and neutral colors on the rims and bases of the plates. This makes the food the HERO without drawing attention to the design. The more compact and close the plating, the better the looks!

Olive Conoe

Mini Dip Servers

2) The Color Contrast: Treat the plate like it’s a canvas, where the colours and portions matter. My aim is to contrast my food to the serving dish, eg: chilly-garlic stir fried asparagus shoots on a green plate will hardly ever stand out.

3) The Cherry Toppings: To add to the oomph factor and to give a final visual boost to the food just : Sprinkle, Twinkle and Garnish. A fresh, green parsley leaf over white sauce pasta or a string of red paprika over a pesto pasta can do wonders. Lighter the food colour, brighter the garnish. Other innovative ways could be to dust the plate rim with some pepper, cinnamon or mixed herb powder (depends on the food type). You could Swirl or Dollop some cream or sauce depending on the food texture. Being Minimalistic however is my thumb rule.

4) The Final Showcase: always needs a cleaning ACT. It’s unappetizing to see the sprinkles, drizzles and the garnish at un-appropriate places and amounts. Most importantly the rims of the plates and serving bowls with extra anything on them needs to be wiped CLEAN before they head the table.

God is in the Details; Small things can make a Big Difference!

Baby Potatoes’ roasted with caramelized Onions, garnished with Truffle Oil

This recipe is very simple and tastes gourmet.

The idea came about with a compulsion to use truffle oil which I was gifted by my dear friend in Delhi, who imports exquisite food-stuff for a living @priyankagupta

Other than using the truffle oil in egg recipes, which I tell you is one of the best ways to relish the truffle taste, I was keen to try something quick and new for my vegetarian friend visiting us with her husband who is a chicken freak!

Her husband, a Guju man is vegetarian at HOME and ONLY non-vegetarian when he’s out , has the liberty to call us anytime and block a meal to satisfy his chic-pangs 😉

While the #desi-murga was been prepared by my house cook (obviously my recipe) I was busy tossing some last minute finger food for the beer guzzlers.

The above outcome is one of them.

Ingredients :

• 1/2kg Baby potatoes, scrubbed, washed and tissue paper dried
• 2 Big Onions, peeled and diced in big squares
• 3 Tbsp Virgin olive Oil
• Fresh Parsley
• Kosher Salt &freshly crushed peppercorns
• 3 Teaspoons Truffle oil

Preparation:

Glaze the potatoes and onions in olive oil and layer them (one single layer) nicely over a roasting dish/tray. Sprinkle salt and crushed pepper to taste.

Pre-heat the oven for 20 minutes odd and then slide the tray through to roast the potatoes for 40 minutes approx..till they light brown and cooked well and the onion flakes caramelized.

Once ready, place them in a serving dish and wrap well with truffle oil (white). Garnish with fresh parsley and pepper corns.

I suggest a slightly deep dish than a completely flat platter to get the potatoes to stay close and flavored well with the truffle.

You can dust some paprika on the rims of the platter to make it look nice and bright.

Enjoy!

Ever wondered how many idioms relate to food?

Have a read here: http://www.idiomconnection.com/food.html

Chef? Moi?

 

This blog owner is an Indian born confused Gourmet!

With no professional training nor techniques, I yet wear my Chefs’ hat quite frequently and do get a few accolades from my friends and family every now and then.

With a natural knack for cooking, I was making regular Indian meals (punjabi mostly) as a teenager. It all came to me so easy by just standing next to my favorite cook: My MoM! Not that my father was any less as he was pushy enough to get the most famous Sindhi dishes to our daily menu: SaiBhaji ,Salemani , Peas-Patata, Sindhi Curry just to name a few. And yes ofcourse, the Sindhi papads’ that contribute to some crispy dinning table memories where the four of us (mom, dad, my younger sister and i) sat and made some mega life plans!

Right from my school days till college, i loved dabbling my hands in all kitchen chores and yes that includes pouring some boiling hot water over my hand while filling a hot water bag, getting my fingers cut while chopping, to blisters while frying puris and pakoras. But again no gain without pain applies to all learning lessons in life!

My self discovery and love for #FOOD really happened after getting married to a family of foodies, who both Lived to #EAT and ATE to #LIVE, each day and each meal! All our family holidays were centered around food destinations and ‘Must Try’ in the city of travel. And I shall pass on due credit to Mr.Anthony Bourdain’s show for this nuance.

By the grace of God and my dear Mother-in-Law, daily cooking was not something that this family expected their daughters to do, therefore weekend cooking came with a bit of pressure for it had to be FANCY (just kidding). Being a busy working executive most of my life, cooking had became a weekend stress-buster and an excellent way to exhibit what one had tasted, tried, imagined the recipe to be and thus presented.

With a very social and well-read husband, who needs people around him all the time to blabber, entertaining at home was beyond escape. These short notice gatherings actually contribute to the origin of this blog. Instead of posting my food and other things around food pictures on facebook (in an assorted album obviously) and counting those likes and comments, it just made more sense to Blog.

I mostly do simple cooking that is Easy, Doable and Edible.
My motto is to make the most of what i have in my kitchen, cook from my head& heart and not necessarily follow a cook book.

“Looks do Matter on the Platter” , however is my real mantra.