As I write this my stomach is growling in anticipation of yet another helping of this Italian/Mediterranean styled delicacy. This dish is inspired by something I ate at a local Italian Restaurant quite recently and this was my first attempt at replicating the dish – which I think I nailed! It’s a pasta dish with a picante (hot and spicy) sauce, a mixture of Moroccan and Italian perhaps?
While I usually like to keep my cooking quick and simple, I decided to go all out experimenting with this meal and mad absolutely everything from scratch, no tinned tomatoes or cheat sauce here. My kitchen looked like a warzone after preparation, but the food was so good I didn’t mind the washing up part! While this is a spicy-ish pasta, you can tone it down a bit by adding less chilies, or none at all (although that would defeat the point).
OK folks, to share this meal with me you will need to make sure your cupboard and fridges is packed with the following ingredients:
- 2 cups of cherry tomatoes
- Tsp of mixed herbs
- Salt to taste
- 250 ml fresh cream
- Half a cup of water
- 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
- About 250-300 grams of lean mince meat
- 2 stems of celery chopped
- 2-3 green chillies, chopped
- Tsp of crushed garlic
- Cooking oil
- Penne Pasta
Make Your Own Picante Pasta Dish
Sauce preparation:
I like to prep my tomato sauce beforehand, so that my stove is not cluttered with too many pots at once. Boil your cherry tomatoes in half a cup of water until they are nice and soft. Add the mixed herbs and a pinch of salt. Once your tomatoes are soft, blend them as fine as you can. Place your tomato puree back on to the stove and heat while adding the cream and cheddar cheese. Simmer until everything is mixed well together. Put the sauce aside for now.
Pasta preparation:
Set your pasta up to boil as per usual.
Meat preparation:
Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, celery and chillies, fry briefly. Add your mince meat and salt to taste. Cook through until brown. Add the sauce to your frying pan and mince meat an simmer on low for 10 minutes.
THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD!
The final touch:
Add past to your plates and dish your meat and sauce on top. We didn’t have any parmesan, but this would make an awesome addition.
EAT.AND.ENJOY
This is an AMAZING creamy pasta dish and you will be left craving more over the days and weeks to come, no jokes!
This recipe is an addition to @jaynie ‘s #whatscooking challenge. If you often find yourself conjuring up a storm in the kitchen, you can enter the challenge too. In fact, I challenge and nominate @mamameimei @lizelle @what-did-she-say @karenmckersie and @deelusions to get cooking and enter the #whatscookingchallenge.
Much love - @sweetpea
