Skip to main content

House hunting & some Light Cooking (Pasta with Broccoli, Roasted Vegetables & Toasted Almonds)


We are a little busy with our house hunting and very soon will be shifting our base from Chesterfield. Its been 4 years here in this small countryside & it scares me to move to a bigger town. I am now used to the sheeps, meadows & the English charm over here that the fast paced life of a bigger town is making me uncomfortable. And the "House Hunting" is a pain in itself too, there is nothing like a perfect house which you can call it your home. I was very particular about my kitchen & when we found this perfect house, I had to compromise on my condition...I am getting a HOT PLATE instead of a gas burner...I so hate it...(U know, I don't get my "phulkas" right on those round flat plate....and u just don't know, which of the hot plate is switched on...Blah!!) But the house is good. Perfect for the two of us, loved the garden and the outside space where I have already started thinking of doing BBQs. :)

And when we went to recky this new town, I found a restaurant named "Fort Kochi" (this was the first time I was seeing an authentic Kerala restaurant in the UK....others are all general South Indian restaurants or some run by others claiming they are Indians. Immediately I forgot all my kept conditions cos I knew, I was about to get some awesome Kerala backwater cuisine just next to my doorstep. But less did I know that it was only a mirage in a desert. That restaurant had long shut down and now only the grand hoarding and the building remains.....:( . I guess now I have to cook up my own "Meen Pollichathu" at my home on my damn hot plate!!
Changing the topic, getting ready for the Its "Fit & Fabulous Friday", so got to cook something healthy. I will not get time to blog this friday hence publishing the recipe today itself. I had this one recipe, bookmarked it long time back from a magazine. Loved the combination of different vegetables & nuts to it. A delicious wholesome & colourful supper packed with taste & texture.


Pasta with Broccoli, Roasted Vegetables & Toasted Almonds

Ingredients:
  • 200 gm pasta (any kind)
  • 200 gm broccoli (cut into florets, you can also use tender stem broccoli)
  • 1/2 of 1 large aubergine or 2-3 long eggplants (cut into bite sized sticks)
  • 1 capsicum/bell pepper (cut into bite sized sticks)
  • 1 courgette/zucchini (cut into bite sized sticks)
  • 1 red onion (cut into bite sized chunks)
  • 3 cloves of garlic (unpeeled & crushed)
  • 1 red chilli (finely sliced)
  • 2 thyme sprigs (I use dried thyme)
  • 25 gm flaked almonds
  • grated parmesan cheese (to top the dish at the end)
  • olive oil to drizzle
  • salt & pepper for seasoning
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius. Also heat a saucepan with water to boil.
  2. Put the aubergine, bell pepper, courgette & onion on a baking tray, along with the garlic & chilli. Season with salt & pepper along with the thyme & pour over the olive oil. Toss the vegetables with your hand. Put the tray in the oven & bake for 10 minutes.
  3. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions in the water which was kept for boiling.
  4. After 10 minutes, take out the baking tray & add the broccoli & toss to combine wih other vegetables & olive oil. Bake again for 15 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile toast the flaked almonds on a tray tray in the oven for 5 minutes.
  6. When the pasta is cooked, drain it & then combine it with the roasted veggies & any remaining oil in the tray. Also throw in those toasted almonds to it.
  7. Drizzle some more olive oil over the pasta & top generously with some parmesan cheese. Road to Happiness!! :)
Sending this recipe to vardhiniskitchen.blogspot.com for the event Healthy Lunchbox ideas, theme for the month is "Broccoli". This event is originally started by Kalyani.


I have also linked this recipe to Fit and Fabulous Fridays , an event created by ameessavourydish.blogspot.com


I have also linked this recipe to Fresh Food Friday , an event created by bellavita-bellasblog.blogspot.com


Comments

  1. Looks so healthy and tasty. I love broccoli in pasta too. Could you send this to Healthy Lunch Ideas - Broccoli event?

    Vardhini
    Event: Dish it Out - Spinach and Garlic
    Event: Healthy Lunchbox Ideas - Broccoli

    ReplyDelete
  2. I cant even imagine about house hunting and shifting,hate it...Pasta with veggies and almonds looks wonderful and filling..

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh tell me about English charm :)...
    dont forget to share house pics,,
    Pasta looks simply yumm!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pasta with veggies n almonds sounds good..delicious recipe..Hope u are settled well in ur new house..:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds healthy and tasty..liked the addition of almond into it..hope you get settled soon...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi from "the hop!" Enjoyed your latest posts and also your wedding photo -- such a beautiful bride! :) Congratulations on your blog awards, too.
    ~ Kimby (aka okielicious)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank You everyone!!....Keep encouraging like this & happy to meet the new blogger friends!! Lets keep in touch!

    Rohini

    ReplyDelete
  8. This will work hot or cold so it really is a perfect lunch

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love to see the pasta in broccoli..looks yum..
    first time here,wonderful space..glad to follow you ..
    visit my space to when you have settled down in your new home :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. A delicious pasta dish!
    Moving is always hectic, hope you settle down soon at your new place..
    US Masala

    ReplyDelete
  11. that looks like an easy pasta dish to make! Congratulations on the new home and hope you settle down soon. I know how the move can feel overwhelming, just bought a new home 2 months ago and made the big move :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 Ingredients / 3 Minute Microwave PEDAS

It's Celebration time all the way!! Why? Because My FB fan page has just reached 150 "Likes" & am so thrilled. Also, the festivities will start from August in India. First coming up is "Raksha Bandhan", the festival which celebrates the relationship & bond of a Brother & Sister. So I thought of coming up with an easy to make Indian Sweet Dish, "Peda". A "Peda" is a North Indian Milk Sweet mainly consisting of Khoa (thickened whole milk), sugar & other Indian flavourings like saffron & cardamom seeds. Pedas are usually made during festivities or for offerings made in the temple for deities. This recipe is a simple process of the same "time consuming" Pedas where the Milk is kept on the heat for hours to make khoa & then goes to the next process. This is the first time for me as well & I have taken this recipe from "showmethecurry.com" the cookery website of Hetal & Anuja. And I must say

Hundred Thousand Dollar worth Rava Upma (Indian Semolina Polenta)

Now you must be thinking, who doesn't know to make Rava Upma? What is so special about it? Every 5th person residing in India knows to make it and is a common breakfast item in almost all the Indian household. We Indians take this dish for granted. Well up until a week back, even I thought the same about this dish and looked down on Rava Upma. Not anymore. Last week I read a news about an Indian born, New York Chef Floyd Cardoz who won the top prize of £100,000 in an American show called "Top Chef Masters". No prize for guessing, he made RAVA UPMA!! After reading the article, I immediately decided that the recipe of a basic version of Upma must be on my blog. And here I am sharing the if not a "million dollar", then atleast a "hundred thousand dollar worth Upma Recipe". :) Upma is a popular South Indian Breakfast dish, mainly prepared by Semolina. It has a great resemblance with the Italian Polenta. It can be made with many variations by adding vegeta

Paneer Couscous Salad

Last two weeks were so hectic for me that I didn't find time to even open my blog page. Lots of friends coming home, cooking, eating junk, visiting places, our famous festival "Vishu" came up  & finally I ended up getting sick. I am still in bed but was so frustrated doing nothing that I thought let me post one of my healthy salad recipes which I had promised earlier. I saw this salad recipe in one of the BBC cookery shows & was quiet eager to make it. The original recipe suggests the use of Halloumi instead of Paneer. Halloumi is a type of Greek cheese made of mostly Goat's milk. It has the same texture of that as Paneer, hence I used Paneer. Must say, It was quite filling and delicious, perfect for a Summer afternoon. Ingredients: 200 gm couscous 200 ml hot vegetable stock / hot chicken stock 400 g can chickpeas (drained and rinsed) 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 courgette/zucchini (sliced) 200 gm paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese), cut 1 inch length wise 2 medi