Pasta in White Sauce

Pasta is a traditional Italian dish. It works for brunch, lunch or dinner. The recipe I have made today is pasta with white sauce. I am not a big fan of pasta but I love to have this creamy white sauce pasta. My kids love it very much. I have used penne pasta to prepare this dish; you can replace it with any pasta of your choice. Normally I try to include some veggies in these types of dish since the kids will eat it without fuss. Add any vegetables you like, add more cheese for variety (cheddar, parmesan, Mozzarella) & customize it according to your taste.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 3)

250 grams Penne pasta  

1 cup white sauce (preparations shown below)

 Red, yellow and green capsicum (half each)

1tsp Garlic finely chopped

Black Pepper to taste

1tsp Olive oil.
Grated cheese (Mozzarella /cheddar/ parmesan) (I have used Mozzarella)

½ tsp Oregano powder

Olive

Salt to taste

Procedure

I will cook this dish in 3 steps

Cooking pasta  

We need pasta, salt, 2tsp oil, water

In a wide pan, add around 10 cups of water to boil. Add 1 tbsp of salt & oil. When the water starts boiling, Put the pasta into the boiling water.  Cook for 10-12 minutes, be sure that the pasta is firm (the pasta should not melt in your mouth, you should chew it in order to shallow them) .Immediately put the pasta under cold water. Drain it again and keep aside. When you put the pasta in a strainer to drain the water, be sure to give the pasta a shake, so that they don’t get stuck together.  

Cooking vegetables:

In a pan add olive oil and chopped garlic, sauté for 1 minute then add capsicum one by one, add olives .don’t overcook the vegetables. The vegetables should retain its crunchiness.  Add the oregano and pepper powder, salt to taste. keep this  aside.

Preparing white sauce

Ingredients

2tbspn butter

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1 cup milk

Salt & pepper powder to taste

Mixed Italian herbs or oregano and dried basil.

Procedure

In a pan melt butter and simmer and add all purpose flour and sauté for 2-3 minutes. (There should be no change in the color of the all purpose flour).  Mix the milk in, little at a time stirring all the while so that no lumps form.

Bring it to boil, reduce the flame, and add cheese, pepper, salt and herbs to taste. Cook for another few minute, until it is slightly thick and remove from the gas.

Now add the cooked vegetables to the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to this and give a nice stir. Mix all things until the sauce coats the pasta and vegetables. Taste salt and pepper, turn the heat off.

Serve it hot by sprinkling grated cheese on top.

NOTE

 You can add veggies of your own choice.

Be sure to serve the pasta hot, if it gets cold it loses its taste and becomes sticky.