I had lots of mint leaves left in the fridge, and I was afraid they would go bad, so I decided to make a pasta sauce from scratch. Now, I love pasta and make pasta constantly because it's simple, fast, and you can make so many varieties/versions of your own. I watch a lot of Lydia's Italy, Rachel Ray, and many other cooking shows on Food Network as well as WLIW's Create. I always wanted to make my own pasta sauce with fresh ingredients instead of the usual pre-made pasta sauces in a bottle/can, which saves a lot of time but considered processed food. In a world, country, and city that sells so many processed food that are unhealthy and generic, it's important to stay grounded and make healthy choices. I understand that most of us don't have the time to enjoy and make a good meal at home due to work and other activities, but it's nice to spend at least one or two days out of a whole week to indulge the joy and pleasure of cooking and eating at home. I have never read a cook book nor follows a recipe word for word. I never liked to taste my food while cooking because it usually blurs my taste buds. Although it is very important to taste your food while cooking according to Gordon Ramsey, I consider myself the one odd ball. I've tried to taste my food during cooking, and food came out usually over seasoned because my mind tricked me into believing it's not enough seasoning. Now that's just me so when I talk about recipes here on my blog, I'm not going to tell you exactly how much of a tablespoon, teaspoon, or cups of ingredients you need to put in. I'm almost like Rachel Ray who eyeballs everything. I guess you can call that cooking with instinct. Oh, another brilliant title. Great, I should really consider changing my blog title at this point! (be right back)
Ok. I just changed my blog name to Cooking with Instinct. I think this is much more appropriate consider the way I cook. I'm also bad with plating, and believe very much in family styled servings/presentation due to my Chinese background. Asian people like to eat together family style so everyone gets to enjoy all the food. Sharing is caring! I apologize beforehand of the pictures of my food for some of them may not look particularly appetizing, but I assure you that they all taste delicious!
Mint Pesto Pasta Sauce (great for Summer pasta dish) Vegetarian/Vegan friendly!
- bunch of fresh mint
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt (I used Himalayan coarse salt from Trader Joe)
- black pepper
- onion powder
- red pepper flakes
- tobasco hot sauce
- ponzu sauce (Japanese citrus soy sauce)
- sriracha sauce
- worcestershire sauce
- sugar
- fresh parsley (optional)
Gently wash all the mint leaves and tearing them into pieces as you put them into a blender. Pour olive oil in 1/4 or 1/3 ratio to the amount of mint you have in the blender depending on the consistency of your sauce for the pasta. Combine everything into the blender and blend until smooth. Taste as you blend.
For pasta of your choice (I used bow tie here), boil water in a pot with some salt and olive oil. Dump in the pasta, stir to prevent sticking, and wait until water boils again. Then turn off the heat and close the lid to let pasta sit and simmer in the pot. The hot water and heat will cook the pasta itself. After 10-12 minutes depends on your preference of the texture of the pasta, al dente is better, and drain out the water. Rinse your pasta in cold water to cool it off, or you can place it in the fridge if you have more time on hand. Combine mint pesto sauce and cooled pasta in a large salad bowl to mix. Add additional diced tomatoes and small yellow/orange sweet peppers, olives, or antipasto style with some meats for more textures and flavors. Now it's time to eat:D
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