Spinach Pasta - Pasta in Green Sauce!

Can you believe I got the idea of this recipe when in dream? Yeah! I was sleeping, may be semi conscious and I suddenly got this idea of a green pasta.... made of palak.... And trust me I made the dish step by step with a full fledged imaginary recipe in the dream itself! And I kind of had the taste too.... I was surprised for sure when I woke up, and I definitely wanted to give it a try. Given my increasing passion for pasta of late, I was desperate to try out my own recipe! And I got a chance to make it one evening, even after a tiring day at work. Started out on the same recipe that I had used in my dream, and well, it did come out well, as expected (from the dream!). And folks at home also liked it, given their liking to anything with palak in general....

Do try it out and let me know how you like it....

Pasta in Spinach Sauce

Preparation time : 10 min Cooking time : 15 min Serves : 4 Ingredients: Macaroni Pasta - 200 gms, I used elbows Spinach/Palak - 2 medium sized bunches Onions - 1 medium sized, chopped (optional - I omitted) Green chilies - 1, slit (optional) Garlic - 6-8 flakes (optional) Olive oil - 3 tsp (or any other oil) Butter - 3 tsp Milk - 250 ml All purpose flour - 2 tsp Dried Italian Herbs / Thyme / Oregano - 1 tsp Pepper powder - 1 ½ tsp, adjust acc to taste Salt - ½ tsp or as per taste Garlic paste - ½ tsp Coriander leaves - 1 Tbsp, chopped  (optional) Method: • Cook pasta for 5 minutes or till cooked, in 4-5 glasses of boiling water, adding ¼ tsp of salt and a few drops of olive oil • Drain the water completely and wash the pasta with plenty of running cold water, keep aside for draining • Pick and wash palsk, cook it in a teaspoon of oil till it is done. The color starts turning dark when done. Cool it slightly and then make a fine puree. • Heat 1 Tsp of oil in a pan and sauté the onion with green chilly and garlic, till they are cooked but slightly crunchy. Add garlic paste (optional). • Add the palak puree and bring to a gentle boil • In another pan, add butter and flour and sauté well till the flour starts to turn brown and butter starts separating out of flour • Let it cool for 5-10 minutes • Add half of the milk and mix the flour thoroughly, not letting lumps to form. If there are any lumps, lend it in a blender or with hand • Bring this to gentle boil. The white sauce starts thickening. • When boiling, add the palak mixture, dried herbs, pepper powder and salt and continue stirring. Add remaining milk and water to adjust consistency to be thinner than what you require • After a couple of minutes of boiling, add pasta and mix gently, not to break the pastas • Add shredded cheese and mix well • If the pasta appears to be too thick, add a little more boiled water • Garnish with more dried herbs, and serve hot. Tips n Tricks: • Do not overcook the vegetable, let it be slightly crispy • I used Bambino macaroni (elbows) first time. Next time I replaced it will MTR, but found the latter too delicate. Most of the elbows were broken when cooked. My choice is bambino Variations: • Onion, garlic and ginger garlic paste can be omitted - in fact, I had not used it in my version