HEY PRESTO…MIXED-HERBS PASTA

Deeba @ PAB

16 years ago

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta”

Fellini

Psychgrad & Giz @ Equal Opportunity Kitchen are hosting the weekly round-up of Presto Pasta Nights this week. Presto Pasta Nights is the brainchild of Ruth & it’s amazingly on it’s 81st week. Pasta is a more than welcome option at home at any meal, so here’s an entry to PPN.

I’ve had this Bon Apetit ‘Mixed-herb Pasta’ recipe from Epicurious in my bursting folder for long but the only herbs I had were basil…& loads of it. Then one day the courier came with a well packed box & beautiful handwriting. Excitedly opened it to find the sweetest smelling fresh sage that Coco @ Ambrosia mailed to me from Mumbai. I jumped with joy as I love fresh herbs; sage is something that has been elusive for far too long.

Coco told me she’d send me some as there was a place in Mumbai that sold fresh herbs. She’d included some fresh oregano but unfortunately the leaves didn’t survive the journey. There was rosemary too, but someone nicked the box with the rosemary…grrrrrrrrrr! I wanted very much to make a loaf of bread with a great crust etc…but was BANNED from making anything ‘exciting‘ on the cuisine front since the daughter was going to be away for the next 3 days on a school adventure camp. She made me swear I wouldn’t bake bread while she was away…& so I didn’t! I eventually made some mixed herb pasta because the sage was calling to me. Made some sage-potato salad & some canapes using the sage too. I loved my first experience with this wonderfully textured velvety herb. Thanks Coco…I love blogging & fresh herbs even more now!!

Mixed-Herb Pasta with Bell Peppers and Feta
adapted from Bon Appétit April 2002
Ingredients:
Olive oil – 3 tablespoons
Red bell pepper – 1 large, cut into thin strips
Yellow bell peppers – 1 large, cut into thin strips
Garlic cloves – 6 large, finely chopped
Dry white wine – 1 cup
Fusilli – 300 gms (the original used spaghettini)
Mixed fresh herbs – Coarsely chopped 1 1/2 cups(such as basil, parsley, tarragon, mint, and sage)
Feta cheese – 1 1/2 cups,crumbled

Method:

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add peppers and cook until crisp-tender, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add wine; boil until reduced by 1/3, about 2 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta and reserved cooking liquid to pot.
Add pepper mixture, herbs, and cheese. Toss gently but thoroughly until cheese begins to melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
If you like, you can garnish the pasta with fried sage leaves.
Note: Don’t be tempted to decrease the quantity of herbs as the pasta will taste bland.

This post is also off to dear Ning @ Heart & Hearth who is guest-hosting this week’s ‘Bookmarked Event’ for Ruth @ Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments. Have a good week Ning & happy hosting!! If you have anything bookmarked & if you’ve had the time to make it, do blog about it & send it to bookmarked recipes HERE. Remember to check out the round-up next Monday.

Thought I’d also share some pictures of the ‘The Himalayan Bear Stream Camp’ which my daughter attended last week. The 7th graders from school went to this beautiful adventure camp nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas…& had a fantastic time.

This is what came back after 3 days…LOL!

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