Oooooo…. I ‘discovered’ another super cheap, easy and healthy dish today – Pasta with fresh tomato, mushroom and meatballs! I felt like a pasta, but the restaurants near where I live sell theirs for $15+ per plate.. a ripoff, IMHO. So I wanted to make my own. I normally use a tomato-based sauce in those jars, but tonight I wanted a really fresh sauce. So I made my own!
I got some fresh tomatos, then decided on some mushrooms too ‘cos I’m addicted to them. Randomly picked up a few items at the supermarket and the whole bill came up to $7 😀 I was planning to make for 2 (for Chris as well), so $7 was a good way to get started!
As I was getting ready to cook, I realised I still had some of that raw beef ball mixture from yesterday evening. So decided to throw some beef balls in there too 😛 It worked out well, and I managed to get rid of leftovers in the fridge, haha! Did I mention it was wholemeal pasta too?? That’s healthier than regular pasta, I believe, yay!
The pasta was soooooo nice.. I loved it because it was so hearty and SO tasty, yet it was healthy and didn’t make me feel all ‘gluggy’ and stuffed afterwards. Plus no preservatives so the flavour was so sublime – I can’t even describe it but I never knew that a 100% fresh pasta sauce could taste that different. If you like pasta, you absolutely HAVE to try making this!! It’s so easy and so satisfying.. and Chris even gave it the thumbs up, haha.
I normally don’t like cooking pasta ‘cos I consider it a stupid cook’s choice.. as in, any fool can throw a pasta together, especially if you use pre-made sauces. I just never found pasta interesting. But now I’m a total convert – such a unique and fresh and tasty pasta like this? I’M SOLD! 😀
Infusing the ingredients at room temperature
Pasta with fresh tomato, mushroom and meatballs
Pasta with fresh tomato, mushroom and meatballs (serves 2)
2 vine-ripened or organic tomatos
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red chilli, chopped
1 garlic clove, mashed
Fresh basil leaves, chopped
Fresh baby spinach leaves
Beef balls (recipe) or sliced Chorizo sausage
1/2 onion
1 cup mushrooms
Black olives
Pinch of caster sugar
Cooked pasta
salt/pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated
1) Chop tomatos in half, place cut-side up on baking tray and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle salt/pepper.
2) Bake tomatos at 180c for 20 mins.
3) Remove skin from tomatos and chop roughly. Mix in bowl with olive oil, chillies, olives, garlic, basil, sugar, salt, pepper. Set aside for half an hour (do step 4 in the meantime).
4) Cook beefballs (or Chorizo sausage), onion, mushrooms. Combine with pasta sauce in bowl, add fresh spinach leaves.
5) Spoon sauce over cooked pasta. Top with Parmesan cheese and sprinkle pepper on top.
You should post more recipes. You’re giving me ideas for the most excellant dinner date. Now if all of these ingrediants were only available at my friendly neighbor grocery store! :-/ 😉
Those cookies appear magically delicious. Would you have the recipe for those? I would love it!
I posted the cookie recipe in the post it’s in, so you’ll see it there 🙂
Hope your pasta turns out fab!
Thanks. Hope this works. 😉
You should post more recipes. You’re giving me ideas for the most excellant dinner date. Now if all of these ingrediants were only available at my friendly neighbor grocery store! :-/ 😉
Those cookies appear magically delicious. Would you have the recipe for those? I would love it!
I posted the cookie recipe in the post it’s in, so you’ll see it there 🙂
Hope your pasta turns out fab!
Thanks. Hope this works. 😉
so the pasta sauce was @ room temp and tossed with the sauteed meatballs? and you just toss it all together with the pasta? essentially you didn’t have to cook down the tomatos yeah? (since you grilled them in the oven)?
this sounds like great dish!
Yep! It’s super easy to make as apart from the roast tomatos, it’s no cooking required – so easy 🙂
I made it last night!!!! I modified the recipe a little e.g. I used sweet italian sausage and instead of freshly chopped garlic and red chilli (not avail), I saute some chopped garlic and red pepper flakes before adding it to the mixture. It was SUPER delish! Thanks!!
Cool!!! Glad it worked out for you – cheap and healthy hey 🙂
so the pasta sauce was @ room temp and tossed with the sauteed meatballs? and you just toss it all together with the pasta? essentially you didn’t have to cook down the tomatos yeah? (since you grilled them in the oven)?
this sounds like great dish!
Yep! It’s super easy to make as apart from the roast tomatos, it’s no cooking required – so easy 🙂
I made it last night!!!! I modified the recipe a little e.g. I used sweet italian sausage and instead of freshly chopped garlic and red chilli (not avail), I saute some chopped garlic and red pepper flakes before adding it to the mixture. It was SUPER delish! Thanks!!
Cool!!! Glad it worked out for you – cheap and healthy hey 🙂
Wow you certainly are becoming an accomplished chef. Hey here’s a tip for you.. sometimes it’s easier to cook stuff in big batches.. if you have heaps of sauce left over, freeze it in little tupperware type containers, then next time you don’t feel like cooking all you have to do is boil some water, cook some spaghetti/pasta and defrost the sauce and voila! pretty quick meal.
Ooo actually I don’t like cooking for more than 2-3 people at a go, I find that if I cook a big batch, the taste is all different – the food tends to ‘stew’ in it’s own heat instead of frying/cooking quickly, so the taste is different!
There’s one dish I like to cook in big batches though – spag bol, but when I defrost it etc, it tastes different from when it’s fresh :X
ah yes. it’s all about the mushrooms…
My fave veggies are mushrooms and avocado.. they make an ‘appearance’ in almost everything I cook 😉
Your journal always makes me hungry. It has also inspired me to try different things, I went to the supermarket in chinatown today for some japanese breadcrumbs and ended up buying some of those glutinous rice balls with the peanut filling, my reasoning was, “hey if beverly has them they must be nice”!.
ohhhhh lmk how you find those rice balls with peanuts – I really love them!
Chris had never had them before and he liked them too.. but it depends on whether you like sticky/chewy stuff I guess, as the outside ‘ball’ bit is the glutinous rice. Anyway hope you like it 🙂
Wow you certainly are becoming an accomplished chef. Hey here’s a tip for you.. sometimes it’s easier to cook stuff in big batches.. if you have heaps of sauce left over, freeze it in little tupperware type containers, then next time you don’t feel like cooking all you have to do is boil some water, cook some spaghetti/pasta and defrost the sauce and voila! pretty quick meal.
Ooo actually I don’t like cooking for more than 2-3 people at a go, I find that if I cook a big batch, the taste is all different – the food tends to ‘stew’ in it’s own heat instead of frying/cooking quickly, so the taste is different!
There’s one dish I like to cook in big batches though – spag bol, but when I defrost it etc, it tastes different from when it’s fresh :X
That sounds and LOOKS wonderful! I thought you said – way back when – that you didnt cook and didnt like healthy foods! 😛 Girly, you are rockin’ with cookin’ healthy lately….
Heh I KNOW! How things have changed huh.. 🙂 I always associated healthy food with, er, crap tasting food.. now I realise it IS possible to eat healthy as long as you just find the yummy-tasting food :)~
ah yes. it’s all about the mushrooms…
My fave veggies are mushrooms and avocado.. they make an ‘appearance’ in almost everything I cook 😉
This looks so good! I’m totally going to make some of these meals when I move back home. 😀
Yayy I hope they work out well for you too! It’s fun to cook 🙂
Your journal always makes me hungry. It has also inspired me to try different things, I went to the supermarket in chinatown today for some japanese breadcrumbs and ended up buying some of those glutinous rice balls with the peanut filling, my reasoning was, “hey if beverly has them they must be nice”!.
ohhhhh lmk how you find those rice balls with peanuts – I really love them!
Chris had never had them before and he liked them too.. but it depends on whether you like sticky/chewy stuff I guess, as the outside ‘ball’ bit is the glutinous rice. Anyway hope you like it 🙂
oh man. you’re making me hungry.
you’re one great adventurous cook. hehe, can’t wait to try your recipes when i get place of my own.
I just randomly throw stuff together, based on what I have lying around in the fridge 😛 for example I have tons of basil leaves from making this pasta, so tonight think I’ll make a Thai basil curry or something.. hmm.. not sure yet!
That IS a ripoff considering around here you can go to the store and buy a box of noodles for less than a dollar lol
I was thinking the same thing. It’s almost ALWAYS a rip off to eat pasta when eating out at a restaurant…Problem is, most of the pastas that restaurants offer are usually tons better than what I can mix up. 🙂
Sooo true! I never like ordering stuff like spag bol or pasta carbonara at restaurants – it’s dirt cheap and so much easier to make :X
Hah I know… pasta’s SO expensive in restaurants, esp if it’s more of the gourmet/fresh kind :X
the pasta looks really delicious!! thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Hope you’ll get a chance to cook it and like it too! I think it’s brilliant how easy/cheap/healthy it is 😛
That sounds and LOOKS wonderful! I thought you said – way back when – that you didnt cook and didnt like healthy foods! 😛 Girly, you are rockin’ with cookin’ healthy lately….
Heh I KNOW! How things have changed huh.. 🙂 I always associated healthy food with, er, crap tasting food.. now I realise it IS possible to eat healthy as long as you just find the yummy-tasting food :)~
I’ve never been much of a pasta fan, which horrifies my Italian relatives!
That looks nice though – I love how it’s all garnished and professional looking. Well done!
Ack! I would be horrified too.. hehe. I love pasta :)~
Love your icon btw, it’s so adorable
*rumbling tummy* O_O!
Haha! I’m hungry now too looking at the pics 😛
OMG !!! it look so good, bet it taste heavenly too !!!
will u cook for me sweetie …. hehehe
Heheh Hire me as your chef!!
This looks so good! I’m totally going to make some of these meals when I move back home. 😀
Yayy I hope they work out well for you too! It’s fun to cook 🙂
oh man. you’re making me hungry.
you’re one great adventurous cook. hehe, can’t wait to try your recipes when i get place of my own.
I just randomly throw stuff together, based on what I have lying around in the fridge 😛 for example I have tons of basil leaves from making this pasta, so tonight think I’ll make a Thai basil curry or something.. hmm.. not sure yet!
That IS a ripoff considering around here you can go to the store and buy a box of noodles for less than a dollar lol
I was thinking the same thing. It’s almost ALWAYS a rip off to eat pasta when eating out at a restaurant…Problem is, most of the pastas that restaurants offer are usually tons better than what I can mix up. 🙂
Sooo true! I never like ordering stuff like spag bol or pasta carbonara at restaurants – it’s dirt cheap and so much easier to make :X
Hah I know… pasta’s SO expensive in restaurants, esp if it’s more of the gourmet/fresh kind :X
the pasta looks really delicious!! thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Hope you’ll get a chance to cook it and like it too! I think it’s brilliant how easy/cheap/healthy it is 😛
I’ve never been much of a pasta fan, which horrifies my Italian relatives!
That looks nice though – I love how it’s all garnished and professional looking. Well done!
Ack! I would be horrified too.. hehe. I love pasta :)~
Love your icon btw, it’s so adorable
*rumbling tummy* O_O!
Haha! I’m hungry now too looking at the pics 😛
OMG !!! it look so good, bet it taste heavenly too !!!
will u cook for me sweetie …. hehehe
Heheh Hire me as your chef!!