CIABATTA SANDWICH ON A RAINY DAY!

Cloudy cold days and Ciabatta sandwiches go hand in hand! Nothing beats eating a warm sandwich with soup on a dreary evening, watching Andaz Apna Apna or maybe Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander( two of my many favorites!).I have made a sandwich using a little butter, grilled veggies, pesto and mozarella...all healthy options in moderate quantities. Then I placed it on a grill( you don't have to have one, a griddle will do just fine), put somthing heavy on it....heavy can be really anything...few soup cans, a garden brick, pressure cooker!! ( see, there is always room for creativity!) Let me tell you how I made it first ...the recipe follows...

Ingredients

• 1 full Ciabatta - you can get it at a grocery store or at your favorite bakery
• Store bought Pesto ( Homemade is great too!)
• Unsalted butter
• Mozarella cheese
• 1 Onion cut in rings about 1/4 inch thick
• 1 Zuchini cut in 1/4 inch rings
• 10-12 Asparagus Spears
• 4 Oven roasted Yellow and Red Bell peppers( I used store bought)
• Pepper to taste

Method

• Brush a hot grill with little olive oil and arrange all your veggies on it.
• Grill approx. 3 mins. on each side for onions and about 2 mins. each side for asparagus and zuchini, or until you get grill marks on both sides and veggies become tender. Remove on a plate.
• Cut your Ciabatta through the middle using a sharp knife. Be careful not to slice it completely through.
• Spread butter on one side of the bread and pesto on the other.
• Cut mozarella into 1/4 inch slices.
• Arrange veggies and mozarella,season with pepper and put the flap side back on so that you have a filled sandwich.
• On the same grill/griddle, place the sandwich and press down with a heavy weight for about 5 mins. on each side or until heated through.
• Remove on a plate and cut into quarters for easy eating!

After toasting the ciabatta becomes nice and crunchy , the insides still nice and tender because of the butter and pesto. Hope you guys enjoy this recipe, coz I definitely do!

PESTO FETTUCCINE

I love italian food and I wish I was born in Italy or in any part of the world as long as they eat pasta there!!
I prefer fettuccine to any other type of pasta.
Seeing fresh basil bunches at the local grocery store prompted me to dish up this Pesto fettuccine recipe!!

Ingredients

1. Basil (1 and 1/2 bunch)
2. 4 garlic cloves
3. Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup - roughly 2 handfuls)
4. Olive oil (1/4-1/2 cup)
5. Salt to taste
   

Method

1. Dry roast the pine nuts on a flat pan on medium heat until they turn golden brown and give out a nutty aroma, roughly 4-5 minutes.
2. In a blender,first coarsely grind basil and garlic, then add parmesan cheese. Keep running the blender and slowly stream in olive oil.
3. Blend upto a minute.
4. Add salt as last ingredient after checking for taste.As parmesan cheese is slightly salty in flavor, you might not need to add salt for taste.
5. The resulting pesto should not be too runny. It should be just the right proportion of oil to basil,garlic and cheese.
6. Add more oil if the paste appears too thick.

Pasta - I use the Barilla fettuccine. Pesto goes with any kind of pasta - spaghetti, bow tie etc.. Cook as per instruction on the packet. Pasta should be "Al dente". It should be just cooked and should retain its bite.

Pair it up with garlic bread and a glass of wine and you are ready to dine!!