It’s time for my update on how my first DIY project of 2011 went!
Let me start out by saying that the above picture is not the pasta I made. Unfortunately I’m not off to a great start in my projects as my pasta failed! I think I chose the wrong pasta recipe. It would not feed through my Kitchenaid pasta attachment! I wasn’t about to give up so I tried rolling it out with a rolling pin. Even then, it was so tough, I couldn’t get it thin. Sigh…
But I’m not defeated and I will be attempting it again in the future with a different pasta recipe. I’ll make sure to do another post once I’ve succeeded!
I did manage to make a good pasta dish though. Here’s the recipe I made up:
Creamy Pesto Veggie Pasta
- Pasta of your choice
- cooked chicken (enough for your family)
- carrots
- Zucchini
- Broccoli
- Green pepper
Cook the chicken. Cut vegetables into nice bite sized pieces. Saute all the vegetables in a bit of olive oil. Meanwhile, cook your pasta of choice. Make the sauce while everything is cooking:
- 1 cup milk
- heaping teaspoon of prepared pesto
- teaspoon of flour
- fresh ground pepper
Combine the chicken and vegetables. Pour the sauce over top. Heat just before boiling. Serve the chicken and vegetables over pasta. Enjoy!
In case you missed my list of DIY projects I’d like to try in 2011, here’s my list! Have you had any failed experiments lately?
image source here
A few improvements to your recipe:
1. Sautee your veg in half butter, half oil (of your choice)
2. When they are softened, add your flour and mix well to create your faux roux (this will thicken your sauce from the git-go and you won’t have to add any of the starchy pasta water instead)
3. Add your milk to the veg roux and let it sit to thicken in the pot on its own (will take between 4-6 mins)
4. Add the pesto after the sauce thickens and before you remove it from the lowered heat (so it doesn’t burn)
5. Plate your pasta and then pepper as guests like it
6. After you’ve boiled your pasta water, and right before you add the noodles, salt the water heavily so you don’t have to use salt again (the noodles will absorb enough of the salt to flavour, but not too enough to overwhelm your whole finished dish)
7. A bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese to finish the dish at the table before you dig in is always lovely
Hopefully these Italian tips will help you. Enjoy.