Tuesday 12 January 2010

Baked Fusilli in Marinara and Healthy-Spinachy Bechamel Sauce

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Hi friends.
The word Italian brings in the thought of Pizza, pasta, risotto, wine….and Cheese to my mind. Ritu Dalmia who is a famous Italian Chef and her show Italian Khana is never complete without the description of the famous Italian wines. Now I am surely not a person who has any knowledge and inclination for wine but I surely have an interest for the cuisine so I do watch the show for the food and the humour.
Today I take you to the world of baking with a very tasty and healthy Italian recipe. Italian cuisine has become very popular amongst the young and the old so how can my family be spared. We were planning to enjoy an Italian buffet in a place called Fresco but our plans have got delayed and postponed. I had not baked for a while and the upcoming baker in me was asking me to bake and I surely wanted to cook Italian for my elder one as he is quite fond of Italian cuisine. So one of these days I made this recipe to please everyone and the baker in me.
The journey of cooking this was satisfying as the baked dish surely smelled good. My elder one who kept asking me questions through out his eating…which sauce is this, what have you put in that, which cheese have you put in that? The not so confident me kept answering his questions and then at the end I asked him, why are you asking me so many questions? It’s very nice Mummy, that’s why,  is what I heard. So I was all collar’s up at the end!!!!
Now that I have boasted so much about the recipe and myself let me tell you the ingredients and the method..
Ingredients
2 cups boiled Fusilli (the screw shaped pasta, I used made Durum wheat pasta)
100 gm grated cheese
for Marinara sauce……
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic pods
1/2 inch piece ginger
2 tomatoes chopped
5-6 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp freshly crushed pepper
1/2 tsp chili flakes
salt to taste
evoo for cooking
for spinachy- bechamel sauce (white sauce)…
25 leaves of spinach blanched
7-8 spoons of whole wheat flour
about a cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
salt to taste
freshly crushed pepper
4 tbsp home made butter
Method
Boil the Fusilli in 6-7 cups of water with some salt and a few drops of oil.
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For the Marinara sauce..
First take the onions in the pan and then pour EVOO over it, this avoids overheating of the oil and it losing it’s valuable properties. Saute the onions and add crushed or finely chopped ginger-garlic. Cook till the raw smell disappears.
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Now add the tomatoes, salt and sugar.
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Once the tomatoes are cooked add the tomato puree and the herbs. Mix and switch off the flame.
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 For Spinachy- Bechamel sauce
In a pan take the butter and add the wheat flour. Roast for a minute but do not let the colour change. Mix the water and milk and add this to the wheat flour stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. This process has to be done fast so I could not take the pics. Unlike the white sauce made with APF this sauce does not thicken a lot on cooling so one must keep that in mind while making the sauce and checking it’s consistency. Season with salt and black pepper.
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Blanch the spinach leaves.
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Grind the leaves and add it in the bechamel sauce.
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Now we start the layering.
Grease a baking dish. Spread the first layer ..that’s the marinara sauce.
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Above the marinara sauce spread the second layer..that’s of fusilli.
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Now comes the third layer …spinachy white sauce/ spinachy bechamel sauce.
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Finally the cheese..spread the layer of processed cheese or cheese of your choice.
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Bake the dish at 200C for about 15 mins or till the top layer melts.
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SWLEventLogo2.jpg picture by arundhuti
Sending this healthy and tasty preparation to Arundhuti’s Gourmet affair as this was made and served with loads of love to my family & to CFK-Creative food for picky fussy eaters hosted by Sara’s corner and the brainchild of Sharmi, as I found this a very healthy way of adding spinach and other veggies to their diet.
Cooking for Kids - Healthy Breakfast n Dinner
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60 comments:

Bergamot said...

This is a nice recipe. I make canneloni in a similar style. Now I will try to make bechamel sauce with whole wheat flour.

Parita said...

The dish looks fantastic!!

chef and her kitchen said...

Even I love watching her show to get to know new terms.....even I made similar kind of pasta and is sitting in my drafts...will post in some time..Lovely pasta ,isn't it?

Mangala Bhat said...

dish looks new to me ..looks too good!

Anshika said...

Its looking so tempting. I never had this before. But you have explained it in such an easy way and to every details.

Rachana said...

Hey Pari,
This looks yummm:) and i loved yr bread n butter pudding :)Will try it soon.

Sushma Mallya said...

Nice recipe,looks yummy & colourful

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Extremely delicious looking pasta u go there:)

Sunitha said...

Italian food is indeed getting very popular.. I havent seen this Dalmia show so will go take a look. Your dish looks great

Pari Vasisht said...

Hi Bergamot, good to read ur comment after a long time. The wheat based bechamel sauce is so healthy and one does not miss APF.

Pari Vasisht said...

Ya Prathy, it's indeed tasty. Saraswathy this was indeed yumm.
Anshika, go ahead, make it and fall in love :).
Rachana let me know after you have tried it.Thanks for taking time out to read my recipe.

Sarah Naveen said...

oh wow!!! sounds amazing..looks simply delicious..

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Awesome recipe with fantastic instrucions

S said...

Hi!
Awesome dish. Loved every morsel - S

Sanjana said...

I love this kind of pasta as a quick meal after uni- Comforting and filling! Great job!

Priya Suresh said...

Excellent idea of using spinach in bechamel sauce..bakes fusilli looks fantastic and cheesy, my kids will definitely love this..

Mansi said...

Yummy pasta layers!!!

Sheetal Kiran said...

When kids start asking all the key questions, you have to know you've hit the jackpot! Lovely, lovely recipe Pari ... I like the idea of the roux with whole wheat flour too, and spinachy bechamel sounds so, so good! I am going to try this on my young one too :D

Unknown said...

Using Spinach in white sauce is a very excellent idea. Love it.

Siddhi Shirsat said...

Hey pari superb baked pasta...nice combination of veges and sauces...gr8 recipe...m surely trying it nxt...
hey my lifes gng gud...wht abt u?...hwz u?...hwz life?

Cham said...

Adding green is such a great taste and twist!

SE said...

awesome !! this looks wonderful sure it tasted great too !!

Katy ~ said...

Layers of delicious fresh and healthy flavors and ingredients. Excellent!

Tina said...

Never tried this...Looks yummy and tempting....

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

I think it is an awesome dish. Well explained with step by step pix...

Nandinis food said...

The dish with nice family moments hidden in it, eh? It's really alluring and appetizing! Yummy yum!

Pari Vasisht said...

Hi Sheetal, thanks for dropping by, and a bigger thanks for appreciating my wheat flour bechamel sauce, let me know once u have tried, hopefully ur child will also ask questions.:)
Cham ..surely spinach adds it's flavors and health benefits.
Thanks Somoo, glad u liked it.

Pari Vasisht said...

Priya do make this, kids freaked on it.
Dear Sadhana and Muskaan, this bechamel sauce will be loved and appreciated by u when u try it.
Sunnetha, if u get to watch the show do not miss it.
Many thanks SE and Katy for enjoying the recipe.It's indeed flavourful and healthy too.

Pari Vasisht said...

Thank you S for being so appreciative and loving, U are an inspiration for trying new. I am glad u and kids liked eating the pasta so much.

Sailaja Damodaran said...

Thanks for a complete whole meal..........

Dolly Sharma said...

Beautiful recipe Pari. We love Italian food at our house so This recipe will definitely be tried in my kitchen..lol.Also love ur step by step directions.

Please collect the Beautiful Blogger Award from my blog.You deserve it.

Ash said...

Hey Pari,

Thanks for sharing your love on me...
that introduces your lovely space too... I loved it totally... U have a gr8 amount of nice preps & nice pics to match it.... I loved the Adai posted.... I like it a lot... & now that I have your recipe, would try it out sometime....

Hope to c u more often....

Ash....
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Rekha shoban said...

Looks delicious and perfect sauce!!

Priya Narasimhan said...

Lovely recipe..I have fusili in hand and going to try this out this weekend..

Raks said...

Thats an awesome Dish pari,and your step wise pictures sure gives an overall idea at a glance,I miss my lens :(

Sum Raj said...

woo nice step by step procedure..looks tempting dear..

Pavani said...

That looks awesome.. I made similar baked pasta dish with white sauce, but adding spinach makes it more special. Will try your recipe next time.

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Lovely....tempting dish

prasu said...

Oh dear...this dish looks soooooooooooooooooo delicious....thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.

Unknown said...

looks delicious..will try this way soon..

Ms.Chitchat said...

Looks inviting and too tempting. Step by step explanation makes it quite easy to prepare.

Chitchat
http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/

Rohini said...

Awesome recipe dear.. I love pastas and this one, though involves a good lot cooking process, is not the one I am gonna miss.. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!

radha said...

Will bookmark this page and make the recipe sometime. Looks absolutely delicious. I love spinach with pasta and this variation seems great.

s said...

looks really great and with ur step by step pics..it looks easy as well..

simplyfood said...

Wonderful step by step instructions to your pasta dish.It looks lovely.

Gita Jaishankar said...

wonderful recipe dear....love your healthy twist...looks so yummy :)

Darius T. Williams said...

Hmm - spinachy bechamel? Such an oxymoron...but I love it!

PJ said...

Hi Pari, this fusili with marinara in spinach bechamel sauce looks so delicious and tempting! Wonderful! yes, we do share the same name :) and what is funny is that we both opted to use a different pen-name! My opting was because its just so difficult for people to pronounce it over here!

Hey, happy sankranti to you and the family. Til-gul ghya aani goad-goad bola.

Saraswathi Iyer said...

Nice pasta recipe with steps.

Invite you to participate in the cooking for kids event Healthy Breakfast/Dinner http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2010/01/cfk-creative-food-for-pickyfussy-eaters.html

Regards,

Deepa G Joshi said...

great pasta...love it..what a perfect recipe..next time I am trying this one...too good..great tempting clicks..

Oraphan said...

Oh, What a lovely post! I love that your older one asked all kinds of questions about your delicious food, so adorable!

Your pasta looks and sounds absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing such great pics and step by step instruction. That was a lot of work, you're such an amazing mom!

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Loved the way you have shown the procedure step by step. That makes it look like so easy. Very unique as u have used spinach in it....
Happy Sankranti to you and the family.
http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/

Angie's Recipes said...

I am a big fan of baked pasta. Yours look fabulous.

Jagruti said...

Hi Pari fantastic pasta with spinach..i love to add in any food and my family is hooked on baked pasta.. thanks for stopping by at my space...c u again..i'll be here..

cheers

Simply Life said...

oh this looks great with the pasta!

Deepa G Joshi said...

I tried this recipe and it came out excellent..thanks for sharing. Have shared an award with you dear..please accept.

Pari Vasisht said...

Dear Deepa, I am so glad that u liked the recipe and went ahead and cooked it and then liked the preparation too. U made my day err now it's night here..dear.Thanks so much for the award I will surely come and acknowledge it.

Sara's Corner said...

Hi Pari,

Thank you for the lovely entry. This is new to me.

Kalai said...

Yummy! Great post with the wonderful steps and photos to explain! Thanks

Savi-Ruchi said...

This is a WOW recipe for me. I will try this for sure. Our family being an ardent fans of Italian will like it for sure. Thanks for sharing & also for visiting my blog.

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