Avocado Pasta

I have read many times online regarding this interesting avocado pasta....ermmm at first I was not really keen to try it , but even if curiosity kills the cat, I have to try it out.  And since it is avocado season, and having some left after making guacomole, I gave this dish a try and I would say it is interesting. Flavourful creamy sauce coated every string of spaghetti, it is simply delicious. Yes, I would definitely cook this again.  Firstly it is delicious and secondly it is healthy.  The avocado sauce is creamy and every bite is so delicious with the basil flavor bursting in the mouth.  I have basil grown in my little space. All I need to cook is the spaghetti.  The rest is blended raw. A very healthy meal indeed.  I am surprised hubby WB loves it too.  Being a meat eater, this is really surprising! It must be darn good for him to partake this vegetarian meal :)

Avocado from the Philippines

seed of avocado is big so not a great buy after all

blends the avocado with basil leaves, garlic,black pepper, salt

and olive oil and a squeeze of lemon

blend till it emulsified

add to the spaghetti and give it quick stir till

every string of spaghetti is well coated with the

avocado sauce

served with avocado slices or cherry tomato

or any vegetables that you like

Avocado Pasta

 ingredients:

spaghetti for two person  -  cooked till al dente

2 ripe avocados - halved, seeded and peeled

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp of lemon juice

salt and black pepper to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

garnishing

1 avocado - halved, seeded and peeled - cut into slices

basil leaves 

Method:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti till al dente, drain well.

2. To make the avocado sauce, combine avocados, basil, garlic and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper to taste. With the motor running, add olive oil in a slow steam until emulsified; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine spaghetti and avocado sauce till spaghetti is well coated with the sauce.

4. Garnish with avocado slices and basil leaves.

5. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Seafood Pasta En Papillote With Pan Seared Scallops

Nothing beats having your pasta wrapped in paper bag, parchment paper or foil and baked in preheated oven for 20 mins....the aroma of the ingredients get infused and the flavor, juices from the seafood and aroma trapped in the pasta....the scent of the sea will burst on your tongue as you savor the pasta...mmmmm I love food cooked in papillote.  En papillote , a french word for " in parchment " is a method of cooking in which the food is put into folded pouch or parcel and then baked.  The parcel can be made from folded parchment paper and other materials ,such as a paper bag or aluminium foil may be used.  For me, I prefer to use parchment paper...healthier and the juices won't leak out...keep the taste and aroma trapped in...besides pasta you can cook fish in papillote too.  I have a few fish recipes cooked in papillote that I can share with you here. Let me digress a bit since I am on the topic of cooking en papillote :p

chicken :  Baked Chicken Fillets In Papillote 

              Curried Chicken Peppers And Peas In Papillote

fish :      Salmon And Tomatoes en Papillote 

             Salmon Baked In Papillote  

             Scad Ikan Selar In Papillote  

Back to the seafood pasta...it is healthy as not much oil is used...packed with iodine and the dried mixed herbs gives it the final aromatic scent besides the sea scent from the seafood.  A good delicious combination that gives me pleasure in tucking in the pasta after a bout of flu.  Hubby enjoyed it as much as I and we look forward to more cooking in papillote.

            

of course the pasta has to be cooked to al dente first....drained

mix with sea salt and mixed herbs and fresh tomatoes . Teh baby octopus needs to be

scalded with hot water for a mins..drained and mixed together with the NZ mussels

then pour onto parchment paper and wrapped into a parcel.

Place on baking tray and baked in preheated oven for 20 mins.

this is so appetizing...packed with my favourite seafood :)

the aroma when I opened the parcel really makes us drool....everything

was perfectly cooked...the baby octopus and the NZ mussels plus the additional of

pan seared  US fresh scallops..bigger than the 50 sen coin...hehehe

thanks Piggy Joanna for the scallops...love it!

this is one awesome pasta

Seafood Pasta En Papillote

spaghetti for two persons - cooked till al dente - drained

2 tsp of dried mixed herbs
2 tsp of chopped garlic
6 pieces of baby octopus- scalded with hot boiling water for a min
8 pieces of NZ mussels
5 cherry tomatoes - cut into halves and deseed

sea salt to taste
1.5 tbsp of olive oil

Parchment paper - 2 pieces - big enough to wrap the pasta and seafood

Pan Seared Scallops
8 pieces of fresh US scallops ( seasoned with black pepper and sea - salt to taste )
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp of olive oil for pan searing the scallops

Pan seared on non stick pan ...each side 4 mins.


method:

Spaghetti pasta has to be cooked to al dente first....drained off excess water. Add in chopped garlic , sea salt and olive oil onto the cooked pasta in a mixing bowl. Add in dried mixed herbs and cherry tomatoes. Mix well. Add in the scalded octopus and mussels last.

Place the pasta with the sea food onto parchment paper and wrapped into a parcel.

Place on baking tray and baked in preheated oven for 20 mins. Serve the seafoid pasta with the pan seared scallops.

Serve hot.

Linguine Pasta With Porcini And Crab Claw Meat

This is the most interesting and most delicious pasta meal I made for ourselves...hahaha crab claw meat and porcini...gosh I can't tell you how delicious this was !  I still drool thinking of it :p  Anyway, I have to thank my Piggy Jo for getting me these delicious porcini from Australia ,when she was there to attend a conference. I have eaten in restaurant to cook at home, this was the first time I have them from home.  This is easy to whip up and you can have a satisfying meal by just adding porcini and crab meat into your linguine. Awwwsome pasta meal and I hope to cook this more often :)  Thank you JO for getting me 3 packets of these porchini mushrooms which have a chewy texture and a strong nutty woodsy, sweet and meaty taste.....I love them to bits and she recently managed to get them from B.I.G for RM26.90 for 40gms. Kamsahamida Joanna :)

I bought crab claws from the wet market.  If you want to get the claws, you must be there

early in the morning. The couple selling crabs were unloading the crabs and 

they put aside the claws that dropped off from the poor crabs. I took the opportunity

and bought back 1 kg for RM20 :p  I can cook many dishes using the claw meat

and this pasta is one of the dishes that I used crab claw meat

aww.... love the porcini and the star of this dish is not so much the crab claw meat

but the porcini mushrooms which have a chewy texture and a strong nutty

woodsy, sweet and meaty taste.....

Linguine Pasta With Porcini And Crab Claw Meat 

Ingredients

cooked linguine for two person
10 gms of dried porchini mushrooms- soaked for 30 minutes
3 pairs of crab claw - steamed and removed shells, keep the crab stock ( from steaming)

4 cloves of garlic- chopped finely
4 sprigs of italian parsley - chopped
2 bird's eye chillies -chopped
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil
a pinch of sea salt

Preparation

Heat up olive oil in a non stick deep pan and saute the chopped garlic till fragrant, add in the porcini mushrooms and continue to stir fry till the mushrooms is cooked through, lover heat, add in the cooked linguine, black pepper, crab claw meat, crab stock from the steaming and sea salt to taste. Stir well till all ingredients are evenly mix. Off heat and add in the italian parsleyand bird's eye chillies.  Dish up and serve hot.

Enjoy!

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Linguine With Fresh Mushroom Coated With Ao-nori

I know it is linguine again LOL!  With a fresh packet just opened, I thought it would be better to have linguine for dinner again.  Surprisingly , WB has no complain whatsoever over linguine again for dinner.  I have some leftovers of Ao-nori ( seaweed flakes ) which I had opened for making some muffins last month and the amount left was just perfect for making this delicious pasta.  Ao-nori are great for adding to Okonomiyaki , Yakisoba noodles and  Takoyaki.  Kept some for making takoyaki  tonight for our midnight snacks .  Alright...before I digress further, lets head back to this pasta .  This is so easy to whip up and it taste absolutely delicious with the ao-nori .  Every strands of linguine is coated with it...mmmm so good that I had a big portion for dinner.  It is healthy dinner for the both of us  :)

All you have to do is boil the linguine till al-dente. Drain off excess water.  Stir fry the fresh mushrooms with garlic till soft and cooked, add in some cherry tomatoes and add sea salt to taste.  Add in the cooked linguine and pour in ao-nori ( add in amount enough to coat all the linguine  )and give it  a quick stir so that all the strands of linguine is evenly coated.  Off heat. Dish up and serve while it is hot.

Linguine With Fresh Mushroom Coated With Ao-nori

ingredients:

linguine enough for two persons
1/2 packet of Ao-nori
sea salt to taste
15 cherry tomatoes - halved
fresh mushroom of your choice - rinsed and dry with kitchen towels
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
a tbsp olive oil

Method:

Cook linguine in boiling water till al dente, drain off excess water, keep aside.

Heat up wok, add in olive oil and saute garlic till fragrant, add in mushrooms and stir fry till soft, add in tomatoes and sea salt ( amount to taste ) and give it a quick stir.  Add in the cooked linguine and Ao-nori and continue to stir till the linguine is evenly coated with the Ao-nori. Dish up and serve hot.

Have a great day !

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Linguine With Mushroom Topped With Fried Salmon Skin

Dinner was simple last night.  Boiled linguine till al dente, drained off the water and mixed into the stir fry fresh mushroom. Throw in a pinch of herbed sea salt  for taste.  Added some chilli flakes and ground black pepper for some hotness.  Pan seared salmon , a squeeze of lemon on it and tada...dinner is ready in less than 40 minutes.  Yummilicous and we eat this facing the idiot box watching my favorite programme of the night...yea watching Angel's Revenge which I had recorded in the morning before going to work.  I love one dish meal for just this reason.  Each of us holding a plate of pasta and multi tasking away.  Chomping down the pasta and the eyes glued to the idiot box LOL!  

love one dish meal especially pasta like this...mmmm yummy

garnish with the fried  salmon skin 

and this pasta tasted so good that WB asked for second helping

Enjoy  !

Simple Linguine With Fresh Grey Oyster Mushroom

Yesterday dinner was linguine with oyster mushroom and pan fried threadfins  :) Lazy people like me just love this kind of cooking that doesn't involve much washing.  I love the mushrooms..it was sauteed with garlic and olive oil and flavored with sea salt herb ( I bought a bottle of sea salt with herbs from BIG when I was in KL ) and the cooked linguine was put into the pan with the sauteed mushroom and stirred together till well combined.  To make our meal more complete, I pan fried some threadfins ( Ikan Senangin ) , cut some cherry tomatoes and tada, WB and myself had one great pasta dinner.  One healthy and fulfilling dinner :)

love the fresh mushrooms....nom nom nom

the threadfins were fresh and sweet

and the water convolvulus ( kangkung )

were from my garden  :)  I planted some for emergency

like this...when I find any vegetables in the fridge  LOL!

Enjoy !

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WB's 3rd Birthday Treat @ Plan B , Ipoh

Haha, this is WB's 3rd birthday treat . I know you are bored of hearing this but for me, I feels he is the most happiest person on earth coz we celebrated 3 times for him, a day before, the actual day and the day after. ...and I am also indirectly reminding him that I too would want to have 3 days of celebration :p  Just kidding.  My Piggy Josh was back for his dad's birthday, my Piggy Joanna will be back next week to celebrate her dad's birthday so that means WB will be having his 4th celebration, though a belated one ! hahaha this year is truly a blessed year for him.   On the actual day, we took him to Plan B to try out their pasta and to our delight it was as good as the one I had in Plan B Publika . I heart their Wild Mushroom Pasta with truffle oil..lovely and I ordered the same one in Ipoh and gosh it was GOOD haha in fact they gave more mushrooms over here in Ipoh...good for me.  The birthday boy doesn't like pasta, so he ordered their Chargrilled Cheese Beef Burger and Piggy Josh had Asian Spicy Crabmeat Pasta and he said it was good too.  He had wanted to order the Moroccan Lamb meatballs pasta but they do not have it for the Ipoh branch at the moment.  Well...I would say it is better to wait another few months before you eat there.  teething period will be over then :) but for me, their wild mushroom pasta is really good..in Ipoh and KL branches !

Asian Spicy Crabmeat Pasta
with curry leaves and coriander....Josh said it is delish

Wild Mushrooms Pasta with truffle oil

this is really GOOD!  I am going there again

to have this :p

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