READY,STEADY,COOK...Pasta, Grilled Cottage Cheese & Salad!

"The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star."

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

A Vegetarian challenge...

Wonder how many of you have heard of the BBC daytime show 'Ready Steady Cook'? I used to watch it often while visiting the UK years ago. Two members of the public, or occasionally sporting or other celebrities, provide two celebrity chefs with a bag of ingredients they have bought, usually to a set budget of £5 The chefs proceed to make several dishes out of the said ingredients (and a generously stocked kitchen containing basic ingredients and spices), in 20 minutes, with the help of the contestants and the programme host (things have changed a bit now, but the show goes on!). Ainsley Harriott was the presenter then...charismatic, larger-than-life & flamboyant. I googled about the show, & was absolutely delighted to find he's still on this addictive food show, "My aim is to make cooking fun," he says!

A medley of flavours...Healthy, wholesome & exciting!

These days my philosophy of cooking is vaguely based on 'Ready Steady Cook'...without the 20 minutes clause of course! There was a time I used to shop with the end product in mind. Of late, I walk into the supermarket or local vendors shop, & pick up whatever catches my fancy. Then proceed back home to make a meal out of it with no specific plan. Makes cooking fun, & pushes my own creativity to different levels. I enjoy this a lot as it breaks the everyday monotony...& I find it encourages the kids to eat as they look forward now to different stuff showing up on the table!

So here's what I picked up at the bazaar...baby potatoes (which seldom show up), bell peppers, sweetcorn on the cob & cottage cheese. I had some portion of multigrain elbow pasta which I wanted to use up...& then of course plenty of garlic, basil & mint! Here's what my home show created on the go...

Baby Potato Sweetcorn Salad

Ingredients:
Baby potatoes - 500 gms / boiled, peeled & halved
Sweetcorn - 1 cup ( I used 2 fresh cobs; you can use frozen/canned)
Hung yogurt/Greek yogurt - 1 cup
Cream - 1 tbsp (optional)
Ranch Buttermilk dressing powder- 2 tsps / heaped (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh mint leaves - 1 handful/ chopped
Red Onion - 1/ finely chopped
Salt Method:

• Whisk the yogurt + cream + lime juice + salt + buttermilk dressing till smooth.
• Put the baby potatoes + onion + sweetcorn+ mint in a bowl. Toss well.
• Pour in the dressing, toss well. Serve either at room temperature immediately or chill until required.

Grilled Cottage-cheese Slices

Ingredients:
Cottage cheese - 500 gms / cut into 8 slices
Oil - 2 tbsp
Oregano or crushed dried mint - 1 tsp
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt or rock salt
Freshly ground pepper
Paprika - 1/2 tsp Method:

• Whisk the oil with oregano + lime juice + sea salt + paprika + pepper.
• Marinate the cottage cheese slices in this for at least an hour.
• Just prior to serving, pick out a slice gently from the marinade & put onto a hot grill pan. Turn once, & pour a little marinade over the second side.

Multi-grain Elbow Pasta with a basil-walnut Pesto Dressing

Ingredients:
Elbow pasta - 250gms
Red bell pepper - 1
Yellow bell pepper - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Salt to taste
Fresh basil leaves - 5-10 / chopped

For the dressing:
Walnut-basil pesto - 2 tsps (I've made my own & keep a jar in the fridge)
Olive Oil - 4 tbsps
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
Roasted red chili flakes

Method:

• Char grill the bell peppers & garlic cloves & seal in a ziploc until cool.
• Put the pasta onto boil.
• Whisk the olive oil + pesto + red chili flakes + lime juice + salt to make the dressing.
• Drain the cooked pasta & mix into the dressing. Keep aside.
• Clean & chop the grilled peppers. Chop the grilled garlic cloves with basil leaves. Toss both these into the pasta & mix in well. Adjust seasoning.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be served chilled as a nice cold salad!

ENJOY!!

This one had a fairytale ending...let's see what happens when I set out next!!