Tulsi of India = Basil of Italy :)

Tulsi of India = Basil of Italy J

My first post - The story goes like this. A weekend telephone conversation with a close friend led me to finally start my own food blog . Thanks Prathiba J

I was in a coffee shop meeting my colleague. The coffee shop was a stone’s throw away from a super market which sells exquisite hard to find ingredients in Chennai. All through the discussion I had ‘Basil’ popping in and out of my head. I could not resist any further; soon after my meeting,  I walked to the supermarket and up to the fresh herbs counter hoping to find a bunch of fresh basil leaves. You guessed it right - It was long gone…. But I was determined to get basil and cook up a pasta meal.  I got into an auto (auto rickshaw) to get home. I turned a corner to reach my place. I spotted two women who were selling flowers.  Just then, ‘Tulsi’ popped up in my head. Yes guys the ubiquitous Tulsi!

So lesson for the day - Tulsi of India = Basil of Italy J

I found my herb J

And what better way to start. Pasta it is. So here you go...

Recipe: 

Penne with Tomato Tulsi = Basil – Walnut Pesto

Total Time: 40 minutes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Tomato Puree – 250 ml

Fresh Basil (tulsi) – 1 cup

Walnuts (coarsely chopped) – ½ cup

Garlic Cloves – 5 to 6 finely chopped

Olive oil (for the pesto) – 5 tbsp

Pepper (freshly ground) – 1 tsp

Dry Italian Herb Mix – 1 tbsp

Dry Basil – 1 tsp

Chili Flakes – 1 tsp

Parmesan Cheese (grated) - 3 to 4 tbsp

Penne Pasta – 250 gm

Water

Salt 

Vegetables

I like to add some crunch to my pasta so I toss in some stir fried vegetables to my pasta.

Red & yellow bell peppers - 1 cup

Broccoli – 1 cup

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Method:

Sauce:

Pesto: In a food processor, combine fresh basil, walnut, pepper, salt, 1 garlic clove, and oil olive. Grind this to a nice grainy mixture or until the basil is evenly chopped. If you find the pesto dry or chunky you can add in more olive oil until all the ingredients are blended well.

In a pan heat some olive oil. To this add 4 finely chopped garlic cloves. Wait till the garlic starts to turn golden. To this add the tomato puree. On a medium heat, cook the tomato puree for 5 to 6 minutes and keep stirring occasionally. The tomato puree begins to slowly bubble; at this point we need add the blended pesto. Let it cook for 2 minutes.  Wait till the pesto is fully incorporated with the tomato puree. To this add 1 tbsp of salt, dry Italian herb mix, dry basil and chili flakes. Cook this on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. 

Dry basil is optional. I like to have a strong taste of basil so I add in a bit of the dried herb to build the palette.

Pasta:

Cook 250 gms of Penne pasta as per the cooking instructions on the bag.

I cook my pasta this way – Fill a large cooking pot with water and add salt & olive oil. Taste the water to see if there is enough salt.  Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta of choice and cook for 10 minutes or until al dente (this means when you bite the pasta it should be a bit chewy & firm). Drain the past and keep it aside. You can save half a cup of the hot pasta water.

Stir fried Vegetables

Roughly chop the bell peppers. Clean the broccoli florets and cook them for 5 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Add a pinch of salt to the water. Drain and keep it aside.

In a pan heat some olive oil. To this add roughly chopped bell peppers. Cook this for 2 minutes. Once this is cooked add broccoli. Season it with pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables for 2 more minutes.

Penne with Tomato Basil – Walnut Pesto

To the drained pasta, add tomato basil-walnut pesto, 2 to 3 tbsp of the hot pasta water and 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss until the pasta is well coated with sauce.  At this stage toss in the stir fried vegetables. Add the grated Parmesan. 

Voila – Penne with Tomato Basil – Walnut Pesto is ready.