I have been cooking a lot of pastas these days. We love pasta, but the main purpose behind this is, I am hell bent on learning to make good pasta dishes. These dishes get ready in a very short time, so they are perfect for weekday nights when I return home tired with little patience to cook anything elaborate. A funky weather is adding to all my laziness. I somehow loaded up my pantry with different pastas, sauces, olives etc, which I need to finish. So all these are adding to the increased pasta/pizza nights :).
Initially when I started cooking pastas, it would always turn out to be an Indian version of pasta. I would have either fried garlic or onion till they turned brownish and it would give a very different taste to these dishes. Then I started following more closely and after many trials, I can say, I am somewhere close to the dishes available here in Italian restaurants. I hope one day will come when I can get the exact taste that is available in restaurants, fingers crossed :).
On one such trial and error days, I made this dish. It was inspired by one recipe – ‘spaghetti lasagna’, that I had found in a book called “Casseroles – simple recipes for hearty meals”. I twisted it completely to suit the materials I had in hand. It came out superb (otherwise I would not have posted it here). We simply loved it. So I am writing it down here before I completely forget it.
Ingredients:
1/4 th pack angel hair pasta (1/4 lb)
1/2 tbl spn butter
1/2 tbl spn extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tea spn finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup marinara sauce
4 oz cream cheese (I used fat free cream cheese)
1 and 1/2 cup vegetables – Onion, capsicum, zucchini, olives, capers
1/4th cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tea spn pepper(approx)
Salt
Method:
Bring water to boil with salt. Pour the angel hair pasta. Cook till the pasta is almost done.
Heat olive oil and butter in a pan. Add garlic, onion and cook for a min. Add capsicum, zucchini and stir. Let it fry for 2-3 mins. When they are half cooked, add marinara sauce, olives, capers, salt, pepper, mix well and take out from heat.
In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Coat a casserole dish (I used a bread loaf pan) with baking spray. Spread half of the marinara sauce mixture in the dish.
Spread half of the cream cheese on top.
Spread half of the pasta on top.
Repeat remaining marinara sauce – cheese – pasta layers.
Spread Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 30mins at 375F.
Serve hot.
Serves : 3
Preparation time : 45mins
Hi
Never tried Lasagna but would give this a try soon. You have a very cute blog here!
This is far better than cooking and fumbling with the pasta sheets. Your head is full of ingenious ideas, Shilpa!
Lovely recipe…:D and the pics are fab 🙂
you can make it less richer, if you use white sauce instead of cream cheese, lovely recipe and fab pics
Shilpa: Sapna, I use white sauce for vegetable lasagna. But cream cheese in this recipe made a huge taste difference. I used Fat free cream cheese for this.
wow this looks very yum!
I MUST try it, am going to run off to buy the stuff 🙂
One really lovely idea for get togethers, Shilpa. Simple and really delectable!
That is a great idea Shilpa, looks very yummy… I know what you mean about trying new cuisines and those turning out to be an Indian version 🙂 It happens to me all the time, and I have to try really hard to keep myself some adding Indian ingredients to all dishes:)
Shilpa: Sig, I just close the pantry containing Indian Ingredients when I cook any non-Indian dishes. I like the original flavors and by adding Indian spices, they come out “not here not there” :)). But it does not work out always for me, because the taste also depends on how much certain ingredients are fried :(. I am also thinking about taking an Italian cooking class now :D.
Hi Shilpa,
I was thinking on paying a visit to a restaurant here (Italian one) to snack on some yummie Lasagna. Its one of fav Italian dishes. And lo behold! I see your dish out here.
Had one question…what are Caper(s)? Looks like its a vegetable which you don’t get out here in India.
Cheerz
Ashwini.
Shilpa: Ashwini, read more about capers. This is not a must in this dish, I just added it because I had it in refrigerator and I love the taste of it. This is usually NOT added to lasagna. I saw it first time when we tried a kind of pasta dish in one of Italian restaurants here. We loved the salty taste of it. I agree with you, I don’t think they are available in India :(.
I like baked pasta dishes and yours looks yummy.
Hi Shilpa,
Awesome. You should be having a cooking show on Food Network. Have you ever thought about that? I would be a die hard fan of your show, I am now of your web site as well.
Shilpa: Meera, Thanks for your kind words :). As of now, I am concentrating only on the blog. But your kind words made my day 🙂 Thank you so much.
Angel hair lasagna? That’s an awesome idea. Looks great 🙂
Looks great Shilpa, and I know what you mean about restraint when it comes to spicing. I’ve concocted many hybrid dishes that taste “neither here nor there”…but really, some of them are fantastic! And this “fusion” cuisine, as it is called, has been an element in most world cuisines at one time or other. Goan cuisine, for example, has elements of Portugese cooking… all just people connecting and trying new things. But, yes…I do think it’s a good thing to learn tradition first! 🙂 But still, I think your peanut chutney powder would be good in this dish… 😀
wow…. looks yummy!! Thanks for this beautiful recipe. Will try it soon…
hi shilpa,
this is a great recipe…i had lots of angel hair pasta boxes with me and was tired of eating the same thing again an’ again…i’m gonna try this right away…thank you
hey shilpa, kudos to u for doing a great job. You have got ur fan in me! i have tried the Date Cake, Simple Egg Cake and both turned out fabolous.
Regarding this recipe can u pls tell wats a Mariana sauce? Is it be available in India by the same name? And if i cant find it then what can be its substitute?
Shilpa: Amber, I am not sure if marinara sauce is available in India. Its a sauce used in Italian cooking. Please click here for the recipe to make it at home.
Hi Shilpa,
I got married 3 weeks ago. My husband loves Pastas and Italian food and I owuld love to surprise him as he knows I dont know to prepare the same. Please share the recipe of a simple pasta so that I can prepare the same for him.I will buy all the ingredients and make it for him
Regards,
Roopa