Italian cuisine is loved by all in our house and I make ( or try!!!) Italian pasta with different sauces at home often. Last week, we were loaded with lots of fresh homegrown tomatoes, zucchinis, fresh basil given by our kind neighbour. So, I decided to make a tasty,creamy pasta sauce with these fresh homegrowns. The pasta was delicious with the side of toasted fresh Jalapeno Olive Oil Bread. Fresh basil leaves garnishing enhances the taste of the pasta dish definitely.
We could not resist extra servings to our plate and finally the kadai was empty..An excellent Italian dinner at home.!!!(Of course with very less cost).
Ingredients
Penne Pasta - 3 Cups
Fresh Tomatoes - 3 Big ones or 4 or 5 Medium Ones
Fresh Zucchini - 1 Medium
Fresh Basil Leaves Shredded - 1 cup
Garlic Pods - 3
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
Black Pepper Powder - 2 tsp
Italian Seasoning Powder - 1 teaspoon
Oregano Seasoning Powder - 1\2 teaspoon
Salt - To Taste
Kraft Shredded Cheese ( Italian ) - 2 tbsp
Parmesan Cheese - To Taste
Method
- Cook the Penne Pasta in a big vessel with little Olive Oil and some salt. Mean time, cut the tomato, zucchini and basil leaves and keep them ready. Cut the Garlic Pods into small pieces and keep it ready.
- Keep all the ingredients that are required for making this pasta closer before starting the process.
- Drain the pasta after its cooked and keep it ready.
- In the kadai, add 2 tbsp of Olive Oil first. When its heated up, add the shredded garlic pieces into it. Fry them for a minute and then add tomatoes to it.
- After few minutes, add the zucchini pieces to it and add little bit of salt and close the kadai with the lid. Let them cook on a medium flame for few minutes.
- Then, add black pepper powder and the seasoning powders to the kadai and mix them well.
- Add half a cup of fresh basil leaves ( shredded ) into the kadai and mix it well.
- Add the cooked Penne Pasta into the mixture now. Add required amount of salt to the kadai and mix them well.
- Add 1 tbsp of Olive Oil now and let everything cook on a medium flame for a minute or more.
- Switch off the flame. Now add the Italian shredded cheese into the pasta and stir it. You can add more black pepper to the pasta if you want it to be more spicy.
- Now garnish the Penne Pasta with some shredded fresh basil leaves and serve the pasta into a pasta plate.
- Add a dash of Parmesan Cheese on top of the pasta and serve with a side of some toasted speciality bread.
Variations
I used the Kraft Shredded Cheese Italian Variety for making this pasta. You can use any other good cheese variety of your choice.
You can adjust the spice level with the black pepper powder to your taste.
You can add more Italian cheese if you like a rich creamy pasta.
Tips
Add the cheese after you switch off the flame and just before serving the pasta. Melted Cheese makes the pasta dish creamy just before serving.
Don't forget to garnish the pasta with fresh basil leaves at the end.
Don't over cook the zucchini pieces and also the penne pasta.