CREAMY TUSCAN PASTA

Pasta in a rich flavourful sauce infused with cheese and Italian seasonings

Servings 4 People

200 g pasta (fusilli or penne)
300 ml fresh cream
1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
2 tbsp olive oil
8 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 cup red onions (finely chopped)
½ cup cherry tomatoes (finely chopped)
½ cup mushrooms (chopped)
5-6 pieces sundried tomatoes (chop into small pieces)
200 g blanched spinach (wash and chop the spinach roughly. Cook it in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water and leave it in sieve for few minutes before using the blanched spinach)

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (if not available you can use 2 tsp dried basil leaves)
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp crushed chilli flakes
Salt
Garnishing for individual serving (optional)
Parmesan cheese (or any dried hard cheese)
Olive oil
Crushed chilli flakes

In a pot, keep around 4-5 cups of water to boil. When it starts boiling, add pasta to it and cook until the pasta is softened. It should take approximately 12minutes.

On the other side, start preparing the sauce. In a pan add olive oil and saute onion and garlic until light brown.
Once they are done, add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
Now add tomatoes and fry for another couple of minutes. This process needs to be done on high flame quickly whilst stirring constantly. It’s time to add spinach, sun dried tomato and fry for another two minutes to mix in everything. The key is, do not put all the vegetables together and avoid over cooking.
Add the seasonings and stir in the cream. When adding salt, remember the cheese is salty so adjust the quantity of the salt accordingly.
Finally add cheese and switch off the flame. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

The pasta must be boiled by now. Drain the water but keep some aside in case its needed in the sauce.
Transfer the drained pasta into the pot and mix in the prepared sauce. No cooking is required here. Just remember the pasta and sauce both should be hot when mixing in.
If you feel the sauce is over cooked or its little dry, adjust the consistency by adding the water kept aside from the boiling pasta. Finish off the dish with a silky finish.

Italian food tastes best when eaten fresh. Pasta has a tendency to soak the sauce if kept aside. Add a tbsp of milk or cream, if warming up later, to avoid the dryness in the pasta. Best way to do it is to mix the sauce and pasta just before serving