Ever since I began cooking, pasta has been an item I make very often. And ever since I began doing grocery shopping by myself, my pantry always has half a dozen dry pasta in various shapes and sizes! Having tried my hand on various sauces from different ingredients, I got to one of my favorite ingredients; Avocado.
Avocado is a delightful fruit to work with. No complex tools required to cut it, not too many ingredients need to be added to make an avocado dish and most importantly, it tastes so amazing with almost everything!! I also realized from various trial and errors that the green fruit tastes best with garlic and olive oil rather than other seasonings. The only drawback of the fruit being it oxidizes very quickly and hence should be consumed immediately on preparing. So here is a pasta with a creamy avocado sauce; less the ingredients that make pasta a 'guilt filled' dinner.
Ingredients
Shell Pasta 2 cups
Ripe Avocados 3 medium
Garlic 2-3 cloves minced
Onion ½ medium diced
Mushrooms ½ cup
Olive Oil
Mixed Herbs
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Method
Heat water in a large pot and add salt. Once the water boils, add the pasta and cook till it is el-dente. You can use any pasta of your choice. However, using pasta with grooves will ensure the sauce clings well to the surface. Once done, drain and set aside. Reserve the pasta water for the sauce.
In a skillet add half a teaspoon of Olive oil and saute garlic in it. Add the onion and cook with a pinch of salt. Once done transfer the garlic, onion to a blender pot. De-skin and chop the avocado to pieces. Add that top the blender pot and blend to a paste using little water that is reserved from the boiled pasta.
In the same skillet, heat half a teaspoon of olive oil and saute sliced mushrooms in it. Let the mushrooms become little dark and crisp. In a large bowl add the boiled pasta and the avocado sauce and mix well. Add mixed herbs, salt and pepper. Be careful with the salt as the sauce and pasta both have salt in it! Top with sauteed mushrooms and serve with a bowl of soup and a side of herb bread.
P.S.: Remember this dish should be mixed up only minutes before it is time to serve else it will turn brown. The sauce cannot be heated, hence if you prefer warm pasta, heat the boiled pasta for a minute in the microwave and then add the sauce. Keeping the pit of the avocado in the sauce helps in the dish not becoming brown quickly.
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