People South Africa – September 06, 2019

Method

COOKthepastaina largepotofsalted

wateruntilaldente. Atthesametime,ina

foodprocessor,combinethespinach,basil,

pinenuts,garlic,and½ teaspoonsalt.With

themachinerunning,addtheoilina slow

andsteadystream.Pulseuntilsmooth.

Next,drainthepasta(butkeep¼ cupofthe

pastaliquid)andputit backinthepotoff

theheat.Immediatelyaddthepestoand

chicken,andstirtocombinethoroughly.

Moistenwithtwotablespoonsofthepasta

waterliquid(ormore,if desired)andserve

immediately,drizzledwitha touchofolive

oilandtoppedwith the cheese and extra

salt to taste.

BYVER AFOURIE

LIFESTYLE

PASTA. IN THE KITCHEN

Pesto. Presto!

Spinach Pesto Pasta

With Chicken

Ingredients

1 Bunchofspinach,toughstems

removed

1 Cupofpackedfreshbasilleaves

3 Tablespoonsofpinenuts

1 Garlicclove,peeled

½ Teaspoonofsalt

6 Tablespoonsofextra-virginoliveoil

(plusa littleextrafordrizzling)

1 Packetofpasta(short,spiral,

elbow)

2½Cupsofroastedchicken,

finelyshredded,atroom

temperature

Someparmesan

cheese,slicedvery

thinlyor grated

H,thewonderofpasta––such

a simplesubstancewithjust

somanywaystobeprepared!

What’syourpreference?

Spaghetti,fettuccini,linguini,penne?Or

maybeyou’rea ravioli,tortellini,cannelloni

ormanicottiperson?Truthbetold,it all boils

down to the same word: delicious!

Table Scraps

24

F O R

M O R E

Y U M M Y

R E C I P E S

PASTAis a typeofnoodlethatis used

in cooking and is a staplefoodofmost

Italiancuisines.

Infact,Italians

reportedlyeat

over27kgof

pastaperperson

ina year.

Therearetwo

maingroups:

fresh(pasta

fresca) ordried

(pastasecca) andbetweenthemthere’ssaid

to be over 400 types; thethreemostpopular

arepenne,

spaghettiand

macaroni.There

arealsomany

varietiessuch

aslongorshort

pasta,minute

pasta,eggpasta

andalforno(or

‘baked’).

ThetraditionalItalianwayofcookingpasta

is knownasal dente, whichmeans‘tothe

tooth’and

referstothe

idealtexture

ofthepasta,

whichshould

stillbefirm

whenbitten.

Anothermethod

ofchecking

toseeif the

pastahasbeencookedproperlyis toseeif

it sticks to the wall whenthrown(though,

forthesakeof

housekeeping,

wesuggest

youforgo

thismethod).

Uncookeddry

pastacanbe

keptforupto

a year,while

cookedpasta

canbefrozenand re-heatedwithinthree

months.

Interestingly,

it’ssaidthat

pastais safe

fordogsand

catstoeat,too,

thoughit’snot

recommended

youmakeit a

stapleintheir

diets.

Fusilli

Tagliatelle

Penne

Spaghetti

Conchigliette

PHOTOGRAPH: BRENDA TAYLORPICS: ADOBESTOCK

G O T O P E O P L E M A G A Z I N E. C O. Z A