- 2 Tbspn olive oil
- 1 Tbspn Butter
- 10 cloves garlic sliced thin
- 1 med sized onion (do not peel)
- 5 Black Pepper coarsely ground
- 10 Cherry Tomatoes Cut into half
- 1/3 packet Spaghetti (or any other pasta)
- 2-3 Cups Water (you can use stock water if not using Veg Bouillon)
- 1 Tbspn Veg Bouillon dilute in 2 tbspn water (can use stock water if you dont want to use Veg Bouillon)
- 2 Tspn salt
- 10-12 Leaves basil
- 2 strands Rosemary
- 1/2 Cup Brocolli cut into small florets
- 1 Tspn Chilly Flakes
- 1/3 Cup Asparagus Chopped into 3
- 1/3 Cup Mushrooms Cut into 2 or 4 depending on the size.
- Without peeling the onion, cut off both the bases.
- With the broad side up, pound it hard a few times with your fist.(ie mukka pyaz)
- Tears will appear. Starting from the tear peel the onion and then start cutting and tearing the layers (see video) Keep aside
- In a thick bottom pan, add the olive oil and butter. When a little brown add the sliced garlic. Saute for a few minutes
- Add the black pepper then the onions
- Saute till onion is a translucent.
- Add the cherry tomato and saute for a few minutes.
- Add the herbs (basil and rosemary).
- Add the broccoli and then add the salt.
- Add the pasta and break it with the spoon and then douse it with water till the top of the pan. (see recipe notes - IMPORTANT)
- Dilute the bouillon in water and add to the pasta. (IMPORTANT - see recipe notes )
- Cook on medium heat till the pasta cooks and water soaks up completely.
- Keep stirring intermediately.
- If the water soaks up and the pasta hasn't cooked, add more water, but little at a time.
- If the pasta has cooked and some water is left, let it be. The pasta will soak it up.
- Add chilly flakes.
- When done and just before taking off the fire add the asparagus and mushrooms and mix into the pasta.
- Serve with garlic bread on the side.
Times have come when we are very very careful about wasting any food. This recipe hits the spot because it uses up all the left over veggies and wilting herbs in your fridge. It's an amazing recipe for students or those who need to cook quickly and minimally. Needless to say both my kids made this quite often when in college. But- for this recipe my son used a very Indian road side restaurant trick of Mucca Pyaz - ie fist broken onion.
Somehow when the onion is broken with the fist, the juices flow and dissipate in such a manner that the onion looses its fiery pungency and for some reason tastes way sweeter. Just for your info - try this with the very Indian Chola Kulcha.
We have used broccoli, asparagus, some left over mushrooms, herbs that existed in our fridge. You can of course replace with any other her you have. Parsley, chives, oregano etc all go really well. If you dont have fresh herbs, dried herbs will also do the trick.
You want more heat add some Spicy chillies while the pasta boils. Green chilly does not do well, so I would avoid that.
You can add any cheese you have, just before taking off the fire, stir some in.
We add the asparagus and mushrooms last, as they are veggies that cook really fast, and adding them earlier would have turned it to mush.
We hope you enjoy this recipe. Do tag us on #therecipelarder on instagram.
VEG STOCK V/S VEG BOUILLON
Since I did not want to use any extra veggies to make veg stock, I used veg Bouillon. I rather use veg stock as however organic bouillon is processed. But having said that bouillon has strong flavours and works well when you don't have too much time or patience at hand.
HOW TO MAKE VEG STOCK. For this recipe - take 4 cups of water. Add to a pan and in it add some bay leaf, black pepper and roughly cut white veggies - ie onions, bottle gourd, cabbage, cauliflower, pumpkin (not the very sweet one)etc. Boil everything together till the water boils down to half. Strain. Use the veggies in your chapati dough, or mix it into your dal. Use this water for cooking pasta.
If you use stock do not add veg bouillon.
SEE VIDEO HERE:
It’s that time of the year again, when our farm in Mahabaleshwar is thriving and blooming. The entire farm is disrupted during the monsoons, which are heavy, non stop and torrential. In fact Mahabaleshwar gets the second highest rainfall in India, next only to Cherrapunji.
