Pasta has always been the go-to-meal in our house especially for kids. Any time I am out of ideas and ask the kids what they want, it is always pasta. Since it is a regular preparation in our house, I do try to bring variety to the pasta, especially in the sauces involved. After watching endless cooking shows, I thought I was familiar with most of the popular types of pasta preparations.
I was wrong. I was at a Navaratri (Hindu festival) party last year at my friend’s place where she served another popular favorite, the red and white pasta/pink pasta. The sauce was almost sweet yet tangy. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
My friend has an annual event at her home for Navaratri festival where a steady stream of guests visit her home, to view the auspicious golu, to listen to performances by talented musicians and to eat the yummy food. You get to meet an interesting mix of people because guests do not stay for long as they have to visit many golus on the same day.
The golu is a display of dolls and figurines that the family has collected over the years-many are idols of gods and goddesses, some are heirlooms and some are displayed for fun or collected during travels-like the complete cricket team made of Ganeshas or a set of Russian dolls; sort of like the Christmas ornament collection of the western world ). The music, usually devotional/classical music performed by visitors or family members, makes it a one-of-kind festival for us. In Kerala, Navarathri is more of a 3-day Saraswathi pooja than a 9 day event.
I digress. The red and white pasta/ pink pasta at her house was so delicious that I ended up having more of pasta than any other food that day. As the name suggests, the red and white pasta recipe uses both red/marinara sauce and a white/bechamel sauce. You can make the red&white pasta with homemade or store-bought sauces. It is very versatile and is a wonderful addition to your recipe collection.
Red sauce
Marinara is the sauce used here. You can use sauce from a jar or use homemade marinara sauce. I made a homemade version of the marinara for my red&white pasta.To make the homemade sauce, you can utilize fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes. If using fresh, make sure you pick ripe/red tomatoes or the color will not be vibrant.
White sauce
I used a homemade Bechamel sauce -a quick and tasty recipe. Alfredo sauce is another alternative and makes a tasty pink pasta. Or as an easy option, you can add a little heavy cream and butter to the pasta and marinara mixture, mix well and serve hot. The choice is yours.
Red and White Sauce Pasta
Ingredients
Prep work
- 16 0z Pasta, I used Penne
- 4-5 large Ripe, red tomatoes or a 28 oz can of tomatoes (See Notes)
- 1-2 heads Broccoli, cut into florets
- ½ medium Onion, very finely diced
- 4 Cloves of garlic, finely diced
- ¾-1 tsp Chili flakes
- ¾-1 tsp Red chili powder (optional) (See Notes)
- ¾-1 tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Ketchup (optional)
- 3-4 tbsp Olive oil
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp All purpose flour
- 1-1½ cups Milk
- A pinch of black pepper powder
- Cheese of your choice- Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, Cheddar, Mozzarella, etc
Instructions
Prep work
- Boil water, add salt.
- If you are adding any vegetables like broccoli or carrots, add them to the boiling water now.
- Let the vegetables cook for 2-3 minutes till cooked, but still retaining the crunch.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the water.
- Add the pasta, mix well once, and let it boil well.
- Check the box for how long to cook. Cook it around 1 minute less than what the box says.
- Drain the pasta and keep aside. Add a teaspoon of oil to the water while cooking the pasta to prevent it from sticking.
Red sauce
- In a small saucepan, boil some water and cook whole tomatoes till soft to touch.
- Remove, cut the end and blend them into a puree and keep aside.
- If you using canned tomatoes, just puree the contents of the can and keep aside.
- Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan.
- Add the finely diced garlic and after a few seconds, add the finely diced onion.
- Saute the onion til it turns light brown.
- Add the chili flakes and red chili powder and mix well.
- Add the tomato puree and mix well. Add necessary amount of salt.
- Add ketchup.
- Cover and cook on a low flame till oil rises to the top.
- Add oregano and mix well. If the sauce is too thick, add a little hot water.
- Add the bell pepper, if using. Mix well.
- Cover and cook for a few more minutes, switch off and keep aside.
White sauce
- In the microwave or on stove top, bring the milk to almost boiling (scald the milk). Keep aside.
- Heat butter in a small, heavy saucepan on low flame.
- When the butter melts, add the all purpose flour.
- Make sure the flame is low and start stirring.
- Keep stirring and cook the flour in the melted butter for around 5 minutes. The flour should lose the raw taste. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Slowly add the hot milk and mix well.
- Increase the heat to medium and let the milk mixture come to a boil. Keep stirring to keep it from sticking to the bottom.
- Once it comes to a boil, it will start thickening up.
- Add salt, pepper now and mix well. And switch off.
Red and white sauce pasta
- Heat the red sauce once again.
- Once it starts bubbling, add the white sauce to it.
- Mix well and check the salt.
- Add the pasta and the vegetables (broccoli/carrot) to the sauce and mix well.
- Add the cheese (optional), mix well and serve hot.
Notes
- Use bright red tomatoes for the bright red pasta sauce. Or substitute with a large 28 oz can of tomatoes. Make sure you blend the canned tomato into a paste and continue with recipe.
- Just keep in mind that canned tomatoes’ flavor will be stronger than fresh tomato puree. So increase the amount of white sauce/bechamel to balance out the flavors. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of butter, 1/2-1 tablespoon of flour and a cup of milk.
- Add a little oil to the water before cooking pasta in it. It will prevent the pasta from sticking to each other while you cooking the sauces.