Meatball Pasta

Ingredients:

• ground beef x 1 lb
• bread crumb x 1/2 cup
• egg x 1
• chili x 2 chopped
  
• herbs: thyme, rosemary, cilantro, basil
  
• mustard x 1 tbsp
• crimini mushrooms x 8 - 10 medium siz, chopped
• crushed tomato x 1 big can
• garlic x 2 cloves chopped
  
• salt, pepper, olive oil
• linguini x 1 package
  

Add bread crumb, egg, 1 chili, herbs and mustard to ground beef. Mix well, in a mixing bowl, with hands. Shape small balls. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to pan, medium high heat, and cook the meatballs, until all sides are brown (for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the balls). Set aside. Saute mushrooms in olive oil (or butter if you prefer) until cooked. Set aside. In the same pan add some more olive oil, start the sauce by frying garlic and chili for 1 minute, add tomato and season with salt and pepper. Add cilantro or basil. Meanwhile start cooking the linguini in boiling salted water. Add the meatballs and the mushrooms to the sauce and let it simmer until the pasta is cooked. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Mix well and serve.

Perfect Creamy Pasta with Peppercorn Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti
  
• Chicken breast
• Crushed tomato x 3-4 tbsp
• Cream x 1 cup
• Garlic x 1 small, finely chopped
• Cheese (I used Gouda)
  
• Butter
• Salt and lots of crushed peppercorn

Sauce: saute garlic in butter for 1 minute, add tomato, salt and pepper and mix well. Add cream and some graded cheese (not too much). Mix well and let it thicken on low heat.
Pasta: boil the pasta until cooked (al dente)
Chicken: season the chicken with salt and lots of crushed peppercorn. Fry in butter (2 minutes each side). Put in the oven (300 °C) for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off in the last two minutes. Take out of the oven, baste with butter and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Baked Pasta with Eggplant and Roasted Red Pepper

Ingredients (serves 5-6):

• Canned tomato x 1 big can
• Eggplant x 2 baby eggplants, or 1 medium size normal eggplant
• Bell Pepper x 1 medium size
• Rigatoni x 1 bag
• Mozzarella Cheese x 1/2 of a ball
• Smoked Gouda A bit less than the mozzarella (optional)
• Parmesan cheese
  
• Garlic 2 Cloves, finely chopped
• Red Onion 1/2 of a medium size, finely chopped
• Fresh herbs as much as you fancy! I usually use cilantro or basil
  
• Kalamata Olives 10-15, de-pitted and chopped
• Chili x 1 de-seeded and finely chopped (optional)
• Pine nut x 1/4 cup
  
• Salt, black pepper and olive oil

Roast a bell pepper in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 375, turn every 10 minutes. Once blackened, sweat for 3 minutes (cover in a plastic container), then peel the black skin, chop and set aside.

Meanwhile prepare the eggplant: there are 2 ways, one is to roast it (you can put it in the oven with the bell pepper), once the inside is soft, it is ready. the other way is to fry it (which is the less healthy way cuz eggplant is like a sponge and sucks up so much oil, BUT it's definitely the tastier way!). If you want to fry, chop the eggplant in rings (1 cm thick), heat (a bit higher than medium) and oil a pan (be generous!). Turn every 2-3 minutes until both sides are golden brown. when you turn the eggplant you should add a bit more oil (I know, its a lot of oil! but after the eggplants are fried, you can put them in a bowl to drain the oil out and use that to cook the sauce ...)

Now, boil water in a big pot, add a good pinch of salt and start cooking the pasta (cook for 9-10 minutes, don't over cook the pasta, you will be baking it later...). Use a separate big pan for the sauce. Heat and add oil, garlic and onion, fry for 3 minutes, add the tomato, some salt and pepper and some fresh herb. after a couple of minutes, add the eggplant, roasted red pepper, olives and chili. mix well and let it simmer for 7-8 minutes. Taste to see if it needs seasoning. Take the pasta off the heat and drain most of the water (let some stay in the pot ... the starchy pasta water helps the sauce stick to the noodles easier). mix the pasta with the sauce in the big pot. then pour one layer of the mix into a baking pan, add a layer of cheese and sprinkle some herbs. Repeat this step one more time and top up with a good amount of cheese. Put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 F until the top layer of cheese is golden brown. Take out of the oven, eat and noosh e jaan!

Creamy tomato pasta with pine nuts

Ingredients:

• Fettuccine 3/4 box
• Crushed tomato 1 can
• Cream (or half and half) 1 cup
• Butter 1 tbsp
• Olive oil 1/2 tbsp
• Pine nut 1/2 cup (or more!)
• Garlic 2 small cloves - chopped
• Cilantro 1/3 cup (or more ...) - chopped
• Salt, pepper, Parmesan and Gouda cheese

Saute the garlic with butter and olive oil on medium heat for 1 and half minutes. add the tomato and a good pinch of salt and pepper. let it sit for 3-4 minutes. add the pin nuts, cream, cilantro and parmesan cheese, mix well and TASTE. adjust the flavors as desired. cook the fettuccine separately.once cooked, drain and add to the sauce. mix well, and serve on a nice big round dish. Garnish with gouda cheese and some fresh cilantro. Noosh e jaan!