Multi colour pasta in alfredo sauce

I stopped making pizza at home for almost a month now. Not because i was bored, but because the man in the house thought i was making pizza too healthy and the flavour was supposedly turning Indian instead of Italian. (In his defence, for my latest attempt i had replaced half the all purpose flour for the pizza base with whole wheat flour and added an extra teaspoon of ragi flour. I loved the crust that day.) Now shouldn't he have been thanking me for taking care of his cholesterol. Instead he said "Look, why don't we just eat out whenever we feel the craving for pizza". Needless to say i was shocked and mad. Because, he is the health nut in our relationship, but turns out he wants his pizza in the most unhealthy way. Most friends i have talked to preferred pizza making at home so they could control the amount of cheese they put into it. My man prefers (or used to prefer) home-made pizza for the exact same reason, only he wants more cheese than a double cheese pizza at Pizza Hut. What do i do? Simply switch to my other Italian favourite - Pasta.

So this last month i made pasta almost every week. For a quick lunch or dinner. And when my cousin came over last weekend, we made this pasta and these oatmeal cookies within an hour while multi-tasking. I am not complaining about this arrangement. Pasta is so much faster than pizza - with 'intention' to 'in-your-stomach' in about 30 minutes. And works out to be both much cheaper and tastier than the best pasta in town. And the creamy cheese sauce makes it that much more filling. I like my pasta in Alfredo and Pesto sauces more than the tomato based Arabiatta. But if you don't share my enthusiasm for this pasta sauce because it sounds too rich, then the tips at the end of this post are for you. You 've got to try it.

Adapted from Allrecipes.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 2 as main course.

Ingredients
2 cups pasta (macaroni, fusilli, penne, bow tie or gnocchi)

For Alfredo sauce

2 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil

3/4 cup heavy cream (I used Amul fresh cream)
3-5 small cloves garlic, crushed or chopped finely
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

200 grams mushrooms, sliced

2 bell peppers/ capsicum (multicoloured if you find some), chopped

salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon of each)

Method

1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions. I usually add about a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of oil in the pasta water when it is cooking. This will ensure the pasta won't be bland and won't stick together.
2. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan saute the mushrooms in a tablespoon of oil or butter for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Remove to a bowl and saute the chopped bell peppers in the same pan for about 5-6 minutes. Keep aside.
3. Now add the remaining tablespoon of oil or butter into the same saucepan and place over medium low heat. Add the garlic and saute till golden brown. Add the cream and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in the cooked vegetables and allow to heat through. Add salt and pepper. Now add cheese and whisk quickly until it melts into the sauce. Remove from heat.
4. Drain the cooked pasta and place into serving dishes. Pour the prepared Alfredo sauce on the pasta. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and crushed pepper. Serve.

La's Notes

• You can include other vegetables like zucchini, baby corn, olives, aubergines/ eggplants and tomatoes. And some chili flakes if you want it hot.
• You can substitute half the cream with milk to make it less rich. You can also add extra milk to the above recipe to make the sauce thinner.
• My source recipe has parsley. I only had coriander and thought it would take away from the Italian flavour. You may sneak it in.

Linking this to the event "Spotlight: Colourful Holi" by Chandrani of Cuisine Delights.