Really twisty vege fusilli.

REALLY FRILLY FUSILLI

I made this pasta dish for a party of 4. It took me 30 minutes to prepare and another 10 minutes to cook.  

The fusilli I used were made with organic durum wheat. (Get it from: http://www.noodlesonly.com/la-bio-idea-organic-tricolore-fusilli/). It contains three colours, red (tomato),  green (spinach) and yellow (durum semolina). Not only it is colourful but also healthy to eat.

Durum is a very hard wheat which contains highly of protein and gluten. It is commonly used to make pasta because the dough hold together well making it easier to roll into pasta shapes. When milled to remove the bran and germ, leaving the rich yellow endosperm granules which is called semolina. When these semolina is used to make pasta it becomes ambered-coloured giving pasta a lovely golden hue.

 

The ingredients:

 

• 1kg/2¼lb tomatoes, soaked in boiled water peeled and chopped.  cheat: tinned tomatoes *1
• 1kg/2¼lb spinach, washed.
• 1 courgette(zuchinni), cut lengthways.
  2 medium sized fresh red and yellow each, cut lengthways.
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped.
• 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds.
• good quality olive oil
• 350g/12oz pasta fusillI
• 4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan.
• salt and pepper
  
  

  Method:

  1. Put a large pan of water on to boil with a little salt.                               
  2. In another large pan warm four tablespoons of olive oil over a medium flame and add the peppers, garlic and courgette. Gently fry these for a minute or so and season with a little salt and pepper, then continue to cook gently while the pasta boils.                    
  3. Drop the pasta in the boiling water and stir immediately. Cook until just tender with a little bit of resistance to the bite (al dente). This could take anything between 7 and 12 minutes depending on the type of pasta you choose.                                        
  4. When the pasta has nearly finished cooking, transfer a small ladle of the cooking water to the vege mix and continue to cook over a high heat until tender.                     
  5. When cooked, drain the pasta. Add another two tablespoons of oil and the sesame seeds to the vege mixed. Toss with the drained pasta and serve immediately.
  6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese according to your taste.
     
     
      
     Alternatively,
     
     For GLUTEN FREE, you may also use other pasta such as the orgran pasta range http://www.noodlesonly.com/orgran-corn-vegetable-fusilli-pasta/. This pasta is made with corn and rice therefore suitable for those noodles lovers with sensitive digestion.

                    

NO CARBs chinese stir-fry noodles

NO CARBs chinese stir-fry noodles

Shirataki are very low carbohydrate, low calorie, thin, translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from devil's tongue yam (elephant yam or the konjac yam). The word "shirataki" means "white waterfall", describing the appearance of these noodles. Largely composed of water and glucomannan, a water-soluble dietary fiber, they have little flavor of their own.

Here, Slim rice pasta (http://www.noodlesonly.com/eat-water-slim-rice/) is used to make 'chow mein'. It is a regular fried noodles you buy in takeaways or in Chinese restaurants. An alternative to egg noodles, it contains very little carbohydrate and it contains minimal gluten.  The recipe included here is suitable for diabetic and food enthusiasts who love to eat but are counting calories.

Chinese chow mein

 

 Recipe for 2 serving bowls 

Cooking time:10 minutes

• 1 packet of Slim Rice (To buy: http://www.noodlesonly.com/eat-water-slim-rice/)  
• groundnut oil
• 2-3 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce 
• 2-3 tablespoons dark thick soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds. 
• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger thinly sliced.  
• 2 cloves of chopped garlic. 
•  ½-1 fresh red chilli to your taste thinly sliced1 chopped shallot 
• 2 spring onions.chopped
• a handful mangetout
• a handful cabbage
• 1 carrot thinly sliced. 
• may add mushrooms as option 

Cooking instructions:

1. There will be a starch odour when open the Slim Rice® but it will soon off after rinsing it under warm water tap 2 to 3 times. Strain all the water out before cooking.

2. Heat the groundout oil and the fry the chopped shallots, ginger and garlic for approximately a minute until it is aromatic.

3.  Add all the vegetables and the rinsed noodles. Fry the mix for another one minute.

4.  Season the noodles with soy sauce, dark soy sauce and salt according to your taste

5. When the vegetables are soft pour it into two bowls. (Some may like their vegetables crunchy therefore remove from heat after it is mixed).  Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the cooked noodles before serving.

Note: you may add mushrooms, water chestnuts, cooked prawns or cooked chicken if you fancy it.