Kev's Wonder Recipe - Homemade White Sauce Pasta

Hey mates, here I back again...Why so late? Can I use back the same reason - I am just simply BUSY? Haa...I was chatting with my greatest buddies back in Aussie (JZ and PW). It's so hard to have such golden chance to sit down and chat virtually over the internet. Oh ya, I am really delighted to be able to meet my boss - JZ and his dear (LM) @The Curve, Damansara last week. Really miss the life back in Brissy, boss...I want to go back!!!!!!


Sweetish Red Velvet Cake@The Laundry, The Curve


JZ with his dear, LM...Lovely birds!


The reunion of the food monster and his "boss"...

When we were talking about our life back in Brissy, JZ suddenly popped up with a question whether I can teach his dear to cook my signature dish - Homemade white sauce pasta. Without any hesitation, I just verbally described those ingredients and the steps for that recipe. But, I have promised them to publish this luscious recipe for people to savour this wonderful dish whenever they want...Come, make a wish and I will grant you one!!!

When people mention about pasta, what would you think at first? A staple food from Italy? Red sauce is the only sauce available for pasta? Pasta is actually a generic term for variants of noodles, food made from a dough of flour, water and with/without eggs. Pasta can be served in red sauce (often calls as Bolognese or Napolitan style), white sauce (Carbonara style) or even used in making soup.


Varieties of pasta...

Kev's Wonder Recipe - Homemade White Sauce Pasta (Carbonara Style)


Angel Hair White Sauce Pasta with Grilled Butter Fish (Thin like hair pasta)

Ingredients:

General Pasta & Others

• A packet of pasta of your choice (Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Angel Hair, Spirals and etc.)
• Olive oil or cooking oil
  
• 1 medium size of onion (chopped)
  
• 1 clove of garlic
• 200g of Bacon cubes
• 2 capsicums (green, red or yellow)
• 2 chopped tomatoes

For white sauce

• 4 tablespoons of melted butter
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2 cups of fresh full-cream milk
  
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt, pepper (alter for individual liking)
• Italian herbs or other dry herbs
• Optional: White wine for extra luxurious fragrance

Procedures:

1. Firstly, boil a pot of water for cooking the pasta. **Remember: Don't put oil into the pot of water but only 10g (2 tsp) of salt per 1 litre or (2 pints) can be used as a rule of thumb for seasoning** When the water comes back to a rolling boil, add in the pasta and give it a good stir to keep the pasta pieces from sticking to each other. Cook about 12-15 minutes, for al dente or chewy texture, taste, or break open a piece of pasta to test for doneness. Drain the pasta and retain a cup of pasta water for later use.
2. Secondly, Put some oil on the heating pan and add in all the bacon cubes. Fry until slight golden brown colour. Add in both chopped onions and garlic cloves, then fry together with the bacon cubes.
3. Put in the chopped capsicum and tomatoes to stir-fry together until it is slightly soft. Remove all the ingredients from the pan and put aside for later use.
4. For making the sauce, start by adding the melted butter on the hot pan, follow with the flour - a little at a time - the mixture will thicken up to the consistency of wall paper paste (roux). When the roux has turned from yellow to white, then you can start adding milk - a little at a time - until it is enough for the whole cooked pasta. Put in salt and pepper for taste. Then, add in herbs or white wine on personal preference.
5. When the sauce is slightly boiling, add in the cooked pasta and the pre-cooked ingredients. Mix well until all the noodles are coated with the thick white sauce. **That's why I don't add oil into cooking pasta noodle**
6. Magical Step: Add in the cup of pasta water and stir the pasta for 1 minute. Switch off the stove and the pasta is ready to be served. Topped with shredded Parmesan cheese if you are dairy-product person...

References:
1. Learn Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipes For Everyday Cooking
2. Pasta from Wikipedia
3. Pasta Recipes Collection
4. How To Cook Proper Pasta - Al Dente

P/S: By following this recipe, you can easily have a homemade pasta meal in under an hour - any day, any time of the week...You can always expand your imagination by substituting the ingredients or pasta type to make your fully own pasta...


Angel Hair pasta (from Cold-Storage sales) and present from Adelaide - Garlic&Herb Fettuccine pasta (Thanks to my houssie - Ernest)

Arh, its 15 minutes to 12 midnight and my stomach is growling! Gotta go to bed to resist having any thought of grabbing a biscuit to munch...Alright buddies, thanks for reading such recipe and please try it out for yourselves. Do throw some questions if you have, I will try my best to answer 'em all~ Till then, ciao and a presto~

Love,
Kev XOX