Pasta with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and olives | TummyKhush

It was a day of shopping at a newly opened mall. If you are into retail therapy like me you’d understand what a joy it is to watch fresh produce and lots of ingredients put on display. So the result was a hole in hubby dear’s wallet and me coming back with loads of stuff. The result also was an inspiration to cook something different out of all that I bought. After much thinking, I finalised on pasta, coz dad doesnt frequently get a chance to eat it.. and well I wanted to do a bit of showing off. 😀

I didnt really think much of the dish when I made it but after a bit of prodding from dad, took a few pics of it, and before I knew it started planning to put it onthe blog. This recipe is the easiest if you are in the habit of stocking differentsauces in the fridge. I dont really go through the eloborate process of making sauces. For me Pasta is just a quick fix recipe when I am not really in a mood to cook. Just throw in a few ingredients and the dish is ready. Beats spending too much on home delivered pastas (and it does taste better :P).

Here is my way of making a yummy pasta in around 20 mins. (That includes the time for boiling the pasta)

Pasta : as requred (depends on the number of people eating it. Pasta swells alittle after boiling. So it all depends on approximately how much you need. I used approximately a cup and a half of unboiled Farafelle (bow tie) pasta for 2 people.

Veggies:
5 button mushrooms – quartered
5 cherry tomatoes – cut horizontally into two halves
Black olives (bottled) – 2 tsp (optional)
(Bottled black olives are salty. So again the amount you use is approximate)
Spring onions – 4-5 stalks chopped.
Spring onions can be substituted with regular onion. They need to be sliced so that they can turn crispy when fried)
Garlic pods- few chopped
Green chillies – 3 to 4 slit and chopped into half.

The Sauces:
Tomato salsa- 3 tbsp (This can be subsituted with regular tomato sauce.)
Garlic and chilli pesto – 2 tsp (optional)
Mayonnaise- 2 tbsp.
Garlic sauce – 1 tbsp.
(Garlic sauce and mayo form the base for the creamy texture. You can either one or both of them)

A choice of dried herbs like verdew, chives, red chilli flaskes, freshly ground black pepper, mixed herbs etc. You can even use one of those herb packets that come when you order your pizza. You can also use fresh herbs like cilantro in the end if available. Coriander also works though not entirely Italian.

Here’s my recipe for the quick fix pasta:

Boil water in a huge pan with salt added to it. When the water comes to boil add the pasta to it cook the pasta till “al-dante” or cooked half way through. Do not cook it till completely soft as the pasta would go through a further cooking process later.
Heat olive oil in a pan. I use a non stick pan so that the sauces dont stick to the bottom.
When the oil is sufficiently warm , add chopped garlic and let it brown slightly.
Add the white part of the spring onions. Add the whole onion if you are using the regular one. Fry till the onion turns crispy.
Add the halved cherry tomatoes. You can use chopped regular tomatoes if cherry tomatoes are not available.
Fry for a minute till the tomatoes are slightly cooked. Now add the mushrooms and fry for some more time. The tomatoes and mushrooms must retain texture. So avoid over cooking or frying.You can also add the olives at this stage.
Now start adding the sauces one by one, first the white and then red. Allow to cook for a few seconds. You can check the seasoning at this stage to make sure all the ingredients are right. (You can select your sauces depending on taste and availability)
Do not add too much salt as we added salt when boiling the pasta.
Once  all the sauces have mixed well and got into a nice texture, time to add in the pasta. Stir well and make sure the sauce sticks to the pasta evenly.
Now add the dried herbs, the green part of spring onions, cilantro/ coriander and the dried hers of your choice and some freshly ground pepper. (Just use a pinch or two of each herb. Too much can overpower the flavour)
Serve hot.
This recipe has been made out of trial and error. You might need to vary certain

ingredients depending on personal tastes. It might require 2 ot 3 trials before

arriving at a recipe perfect for your family)