Temptations of an Empathic Foodie

Ciao (a hello in Italian)

As you know, this is my 51^st post. So, I thought of coming up with something new. For all those who come here to read some 'clear headed' analysis of social and political issues, or my 'witty' take on the life of people around me, or my highly philosophical stuff which sometimes surprise (read bore) even me, this may come as a shock!

In my bid to diversify, I am going to serve you something new; something that will tempt you, titillate your senses, and hopefully in the end, satisfy your appetite to the full as it did mine.

I present to you the Bo-Veg Cheese Pasta from the kitchen of none other than, the great Italian Chef Lupiv Revorg (just read the name backwards to decode the actual desi chef).

It is basically a combo-meal, a two-storey combination of healthy Boiled Vegetables and unhealthy Cheese Pasta, the former cancelling out the harm caused by the latter. An ideal empathic cuisine, indeed ;)

First of all lets prepare the first storey of the cuisine, i.e. Boiled Vegetables in Mayonnaise Sauce. As the name suggests, you need

• Cauliflower (1 medium sized, cut into large chunks)
• Carrot (2 medium sized, sliced horizontally)
• French Beans (10-15, cut into two halves)
• Green Peas (1/2 cup)
• Mayonnaise (4 tablespoon)
• Milk (1/2 cup)
• Oregano (1 tablespoon)
• Salt (as per your taste)

First boil or steam the chopped vegetables. Add some salt while boiling.

Meanwhile, in the dish in which you will be serving the cuisine, add mayonnaise and milk. Stir them with salt and oregano to make a thin sauce. Once, the vegetables get fork tender, drain the water and add them to the sauce and mix well. Now spread the vegetables evenly in the dish.

The first storey has been laid successfully.

Now, lets come to the next part, the unhealthy one. For Cheese Pasta, you need

• Pasta (250 gms of anyone; I went for the 'screwed' ones)
• Cheese (150 gms of any standard Pizza Cheese will do)
• Milk (1 cup)
• Cream (2 tablespoon)
  
• Butter (2 tablespoon)
• Tomato Ketchup (3 tablespoon)
• American Corn (1/3 cup)
• Oregano (1/2 tablespoon)
• Black Pepper (1/2 tablespoon)
• Salt (as per your taste)

On a heated non-sticking pan, add two tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add the boiled pasta (boiled as per the directions given on the pack). Stir them for some time over the heat. Then add American Corn and the three spices mentioned in the end. After stirring again for some time, finally add the grated cheese (heaven on the earth). Don't allow the cheese to stick to the pan or get too sticky with the pasta. So keep stirring and add milk and cream. Finally add tomato ketchup, stir well and let the contents to simmer.

Once done, empty the Cheese Pasta evenly over the Boiled Vegetables and serve hot, ideally to 2-3 persons. If you prepare both the dishes side by side, then you should not take more than 45 minutes in the whole process.

To save the effort made in the second part, I may suggest you to go for Maggi instead of Pasta. That was what I did, when I prepared this cuisine for the first time. However, do add tomato ketchup, one tablespoon of cheese spread (for each Maggi cake) and some salt and black pepper while preparing it.

Bo-Veg Cheese Pasta goes best with Garlic Bread (preferably the oregano flavoured) micro-waved with a hint of cheese for two minutes. And of course, to wet your tongue keep a pitcher of Coke or try out Catch's new sugar-free flavoured soda.

Bon Appetit! (now translate it to Italian by yourself; and yeah that's in French, means good appetite, i.e. have a good meal:)

Image Courtesy:

From Personal Collection (edited)