Italian summer salad

Heat is showing it's effect in March itself. Eating regular meal twice a day is real hard these days. So salad , juice, buttermilk are some good options.  Here is the nice and healthy option in Summer.

Ingredients
Brown Bread  - 2-3 slices
Boneless chicken - 100 gms
Tomato - 1
Cucumber -1
Lettuce leaves - 3-4
Green olives - 8-9

For DressingOlive Oil - 3 tablespoon

Garlic cloves - 3-4
Basil leaves - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Procedure

Preheat oven on 180 C. Make small cubes of bread slices.  Bake this cubes in oven for 10 minutes.   Cut chicken into small cubes and boil with little salt into it.  Remove seeds of tomato and cucumber and cut in small cubes. Now take all the ingredients of dressing  in mixer pot and grind to coarse paste.   Now take this in a salad bowl.  Add olives, bread cubes, chicken cubes, tomato & cucumber cubes and cut lettuce leaves with your hands and put it in bowl.  Toss well .  Transfer it in salad plate and serve it.

Note - Vegetarians can replace chicken with Paneer  or boiled Rajma.



Pasta and Garlic Bread

My MIL loves Italian food so yesterday we had Pasta, Garlic bread and Pizza for Dinner. For the first time she had Italian Dishes prepared by me and she was Happy :).


Pasta

Ingredients

Penne Pasta - 250 Grams
Chopped Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Onion - 1 small
Capsicum - 1 medium
Sweet corn - 2 table spoon
mixed herbs (celery, parsley, oregano, coriander, etc) - 2 teaspoon
Chili flakes - 1 teaspoon
Butter - 50 Grams
Grated cheese - 1/2 cup
Fresh cream- 3 tablespoon
Pasta sauce - 2-3 Tablespoon
Black pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste

For White Sauce
Butter - 2 tablespoon
All purpose flour - 2 tablespoon
Milk - 2 cups



Procedure

For White sauce

Heat a pan and add butter in it. Melt it. Then add all purpose flour. Roast it on low flame for just a minute. Now pour milk slowly and on the other hand mix it gently to avoid lumps. Cook it for 30 seconds. Add apinch of black pepper powder and salt.

For Pasta
Take a large pan add about 2 liters of water in it. When water starts boiling add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to it. Now add pasta and boil it for 10 minutes or till it cook properly. Drain the water from pasta.

Heat a large kadai, add butter , then add chopped garlic and saute it for minute. Cut onion and capsicum in small cubes. Add capsicum, onion and corn in a kadai and saute it. (if you want you can add shredded chicken) Now add mixed herbs and chili flakes, salt pepper powder and pasta sauce. Saute it for 2-3 minutes. Now add cream, pasta, cheese and white sauce and mix well. Garnish it with Oregano and chili flakes.



Garlic Bread

Ingredients

large French loaf -1
soft butter - 50 Gms
Garlic Paste - 2 teaspoon
Grated Mozzarella Cheese - ½ Cup
Oregano - 2 teaspoon
Chili flakes - 1 teaspoon



Procedure

Mix butter with garlic paste, salt, mixed Oregano and chili flakes. Cut the bread into diagonal slices to half an inch thickness. Apply the butter, then spread grated cheese on it and bake at 180 degree centigrade for 5 - 8 minutes or until brown. Serve it with Pasta.