We all love pasta & I make it quite often. This time I tried it with chicken sausages as suggested by my husband & it really lifted the flavor of the pasta along with the cherry tomatoes. A must try by all my dear friends is recommended by me .. J
Ingredients :
2 cups Farfalle
3 Chicken Sausages (finely sliced)
6 -8 Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
½ cup Red & Yellow Bell peppers (diced)
½ Capsicum (deseeded & diced)
1 tbsp. fresh Garlic (crushed & minced)
1 tbsp. mixed Italian herbs (or any herb of your choice)
¼ tsp. Pepper pwd.
½ tsp. Red Chilli flakes
5 leaves fresh Basil
½ cup mix of Parmesan & Cheddar Cheese
4 tbsps. Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Basic Tomato Sauce:
4 large Red Tomatoes (washed & roughly chopped)
1 large Onion (peeled & roughly chopped)
4 cloves fresh Garlic (crushed & minced)
3 tbsps. Olive Oil
1 tsp. dried Oregano/ a few fresh sprigs
1 tsp. dried Basil/ few fresh leaves
Few Celery leaves
2 tsps. Sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation of Tomato Sauce :
Heat olive oil in a pan till hot.
Add the minced garlic & saute lightly. Do not brown.
Then add the onions & saute till soft, about 5 mins. Keep stirring frequently.
Add in the chopped tomatoes & stir well. Let it cook till tomatoes soften.
Add sugar & salt to taste. Take off the heat & let it cool.
Blend the mix in a blender & then strain through a sieve.
Place the contents again on heat & let it come to a boil.
Add the pepper, herbs & let it simmer uncovered till thick, stirring often to avoid sticking & burning.
If using fresh herbs then tear the basil with your fingers & add to the sauce.
Your tomato sauce is ready to use.
Basic Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce :
60 gms. Butter
1/3 cup Refined Flour
4 ½ cups Milk
75 gms. grated Parmesan/ Cheddar Cheese (or a mix of both)
¼ tsp. Salt (or to taste)
¼ tsp. Pepper pwd.
A good pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
Preparation of Bechamel Sauce/White Sauce :
In a deep non-stick pan, melt butter over med. heat till foaming & add flour.
Cook for 2 mins. stirring constantly till the rawness disappears. Do not brown.
Take the pan off the heat; gradually pour warmed milk & keep whisking constantly till the mixture is smooth.
Place it on the heat again & cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce comes to a boil, thickens & coats the back of the spoon.
Remove from heat & sprinkle pepper pwd, nutmeg pwd.,grated cheese, salt to taste & mix well.
Keep aside for further use.
Preparation of Pasta Farfalle :
In a large pan boil pasta in salted water as per packet instructions.
Drain the pasta but keep it in the strainer & toss with a tsp. of olive oil.
Keep aside about 2 cups of the liquid in which the pasta was boiled.
Heat the olive oil in a large wok & add the minced garlic & saute for a while.
Then add the capsicum & bell peppers, saute & toss well.
Next add the sliced chicken sausages, cherry tomatoes; saute & toss again.
Add the farfalle & toss.
Then add 3 -4 tbsps. of prepared tomato sauce; mix & toss.
Add 3 tbsps. of béchamel sauce & toss again.
Reserve some chilli flakes & herbs & cheese for garnish & add the remaining to the pasta & toss.
Sprinkle pepper & adjust salt to taste.
In case the pasta is too thick add some reserved liquid to get the desired sauce consistency.
Serve hot garnished with the reserved herbs, chilli flakes, cheese, celery & a drizzle of olive oil accompanied with garlic bread or bread of your choice.
Variations :
You can prepare the pasta using either tomato sauce or béchamel sauce.
Fresh herbs enhance the flavor. You can use assorted herbs or any single herb if you wish.
You can use your favorite variety of cheese.
You can eliminate chilli flakes if you wish.
Vegetarians may eliminate the chicken.
