Tagliatelle Cooks in @ 7 Minutes!

Welcome back!

The “next generation“Ghanaian has a rich heritage!  Not only do we cherish the foods of our country, we also appreciate the global village which has merged our cultures with other cultures both far and near.   Thanks to technology, distance is no more a problem.  Our children play video games with their friends all over the world every day.   We talk “face to face” to our dear ones through Skype and Messenger and through other technologies wherever we may be!

Our foods, as I said in my introductory blog, have also changed because of our travels and intermingling.  There is an ever present sense of living in a global community.  Our shops don’t only stock “Mank3ni” (Cocoyam) and “Gari”.  They also stock “Indomie” -noodles of all kinds, macaronis of all kinds, pastas of all kinds, and pizzas of all kinds.  We buy and cook these foods for our families every day.

These are exciting times!  Coupled with my own exciting realisation that today marks the 1,000^th unique visitors (first time visitors) landmark to the Africa on Your Plate (AOYP) website and blog!  Thank you!  In celebrating the global village and the AOYP’s 1,000th visitor landmark, I have decided to share a dish which I created and have cooked many times for my family from my “Fusion Cooking” kit.  I will return to the fusion cooking topic some other time, but for now, I want to tell you about this dish that I am excited to share with you.  I called it “Prawn Pasta (Tagliatelle) with Stir-fried Vegetables”.  I want to assure you that despite its mouthful name, this dish is very simple and easy to make for the whole family.  It cooks in no time and the whole family can enjoy it in no time at all.  It’s ideal for when the family is busy but needs something delicious to eat, which is quick and easy to make. 

So what is Tagliatelle?  It is a regional pasta made in Northern Italy.  It is egg noodles or pasta cut in long, flat pieces or ribbons.  It is usually made fresh using soft wheat and eggs and shaped into curled ribbons.  There is also the dried variety which are available in our malls and the variety I have used in this dish.  In Italy, the Tagliatelle will be made quite differently from how I have made it here because tomato sauce and possibly cheese will be added to the dish.

Here is how to make my version:  

Difficulty and Servings

Easy:  serves 4-6

Preparation and Cooking times

Preparation time: 15 minutes: Cooking time: 15 minutes,

For the Tagliatelle Pasta

You will need:

1 packet Dried Tagliatelle Pasta (@ 454g)

1 ltr Water for cooking the pasta

2tbs Oil for the water (to prevent pasta from sticking to each other)

For the Tagliatelle Pasta Sauce

You will need:

60 ml Oil

1 large Onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

2 tbs light Soya Sauce (dark soya sauce will also do)

1 vegetable Stock Cube, crumbled

1 tsp White Pepper

1 thumb-size fresh Ginger, julienned (peeled and cut into matches-like strips)

60ml Water

200g Carrots, diced

200g Frozen Prawns, peeled (or 300g fresh shrimps, shells and heads removed and deveined)

100g Mange Tout, deveined

50g Spring Onions /Scallions, cut into pieces

100g frozen Peas

Salt to Taste

Sprigs of Coriander or Parsley for garnishing or dressing (optional)

 Method:

1. To cook the Paste, boil the water in a large deep pan with a lid.  When boiled, add the oil and all the dried Tagliatelle pasta at once.  Stir and Cover.  Cook for about 7 minutes on medium heat and stir a few more times until the pasta becomes flexible and slightly sticky.  Drain the water in a colander and keep warm.  Set aside.
2. To make the sauce, pour the oil into a wok or a roomy, deep pan on medium heat and fry onion and garlic for about a minute. 
3. Add the soya sauce, stock cube, white pepper and ginger. Add the water and the carrots and stir.  Cook for about 3 minutes or until the carrots are softening. 
4. Add the prawns and the rest of the vegetables.  Simmer for another 3 minutes or until the vegetables are firm but cooked. 
5. Detangle the Tagliatelle pasta which you cooked earlier.  Add it to the sauce in the wok or deep pan and toss or use a fork to coat the pasta with the sauce.  Adjust seasoning with the salt, add the coriander /parsley garnish and serve hot.  

Monica’s Tips

This is a beautiful dish to share with family after work or with friends and family on a lazy day at home.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a quick and easy dish to make. Make sure the tagliatelle is not too soft.  It should be firm to the touch but slightly sticky. (I have heard it said that if you throw a small piece of cooked pasta on the wall and it sticks, it is a sign that it is ready, lol – can’t verify that!) Enjoy it with a chilled, slightly sweet (dolce) sparkling Italian wine like “Spumante” or any bubbly, slightly sweet red or white wine.  Enjoy!

I would like to know how you get on when you make this Pasta dish.  Please drop me a line with your pictures, if possible, through www.africaonyourplate.simplesite.com

Happy entertaining!

 
Monica Serwah Busia