Pavel loves crostini, Vyom loves crostini and I don't mind them either. I mean little toasts smeared with olive oil and all kinds of interesting toppings, what's not to like?
I got some sour-dough chewy bread and cut slices, toasted them lightly on a pan, smeared them with olive oil and then layered different toppings onto them:
1. mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with onions and garlic
2. skinned tomatoes chopped finely and drizzled with olive oil
3. finely chopped green olives in brine
4. slivers of preserved pimientos (from my malta trip)
5. finely chopped roasted yellow pepper
6. thinly sliced chorizo
7. crumbled feta chese
and then grilled them for a few minutes to warm them up a bit.
Gone as fast as they came out. Pavel's mom liked them too. And Vyom asked, "ye ghar hai ki restaurant hai?"
But a full dinner of crostini would not have satisfied those hunger pangs (no time to make a hearty soup), so, it had to be followed by pasta. I had planned on Pasta Primavera type with loads of veggies and no sauce, but everyone likes and wants creamy sauces, so, I stuck a compromise with a kind of carbonara. This isn't a classic carbonara but it has eggs, pig meat and pasta! It actually came out quite nice and light with loads of veggies. I had penne, so I used penne instead of spaghetti or linguini.I had roasted green and yellow capsicum cut lenghtwise, blanched green beans, diced spring onions, roasted onions, some baby corn. Here's what you need to do if you want to make this dish:
Heat two tsps of olive oil, add two crushed garlic cloves and a handfull of chorizo sliced (I didn't have bacon, and well, it is pork in any case). When it starts sizzling add baby corn and green beans and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add all the other veggies and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of milk and bring to a simmer. Take the pan off heat and add two well-beaten eggs , slowly mixing them in. Put the pan back on very low heat, add about 1/4 cup of cheese (I mixed cheddar and feta), mix it and heat till the sauce has thickened a little. Tip in cooked pasta and mix. Serve sprinkled with black pepper.
I got some sour-dough chewy bread and cut slices, toasted them lightly on a pan, smeared them with olive oil and then layered different toppings onto them:
1. mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with onions and garlic
2. skinned tomatoes chopped finely and drizzled with olive oil
3. finely chopped green olives in brine
4. slivers of preserved pimientos (from my malta trip)
5. finely chopped roasted yellow pepper
6. thinly sliced chorizo
7. crumbled feta chese
and then grilled them for a few minutes to warm them up a bit.
Gone as fast as they came out. Pavel's mom liked them too. And Vyom asked, "ye ghar hai ki restaurant hai?"
But a full dinner of crostini would not have satisfied those hunger pangs (no time to make a hearty soup), so, it had to be followed by pasta. I had planned on Pasta Primavera type with loads of veggies and no sauce, but everyone likes and wants creamy sauces, so, I stuck a compromise with a kind of carbonara. This isn't a classic carbonara but it has eggs, pig meat and pasta! It actually came out quite nice and light with loads of veggies. I had penne, so I used penne instead of spaghetti or linguini.I had roasted green and yellow capsicum cut lenghtwise, blanched green beans, diced spring onions, roasted onions, some baby corn. Here's what you need to do if you want to make this dish:
Heat two tsps of olive oil, add two crushed garlic cloves and a handfull of chorizo sliced (I didn't have bacon, and well, it is pork in any case). When it starts sizzling add baby corn and green beans and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add all the other veggies and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of milk and bring to a simmer. Take the pan off heat and add two well-beaten eggs , slowly mixing them in. Put the pan back on very low heat, add about 1/4 cup of cheese (I mixed cheddar and feta), mix it and heat till the sauce has thickened a little. Tip in cooked pasta and mix. Serve sprinkled with black pepper.
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