Penne in Tomato Sauce with Grilled Veggies and Prawns

Finally am back from home after a lo…..ng vacation of almost 2 months. The important works were done with satisfying results so I boarded the flight with relief…but with a heavy jeart, felt sad leaving parents behind. More this time, as now they miss their grandson and his all day long activities a lot. Though this time my younger brother accompanied me for a short vacation here but still am missing Maa, Baba, Niece, Elder brother, cousins and everything about HOME.

Our house was in a big MESS, two months clutter and dust invited me with open hands and I was not sure where to start my cleaning from. Everything in the house was bathed in dust and grime and for the past three days I had to run the washing machine twice daily to get rid of the unwashed clothes. Even that was not enough the garden resembled a mini jungle and my cub wanted to play hide and seek there. But the thing that almost brought tears in my eyes was the sight of my plants. 90% of the plants have dried as when Hubby was abroad the maid didn’t appear to water them. All my rose plants, chrysanthemums, hibiscus, mogra, crotons are dead. Can’t help as life needs to move on and that too on a fast pace if you have a toddler to deal with. So I put my hair in a bun, deposited the baby to brother, ordered home delivery and equipped with some cleaning equipments started cleaning the house. The next morning the same suit happened but then in the afternoon stomach started grumbling and we were in dire need of some food. None of us wanted another home delivery so thought of some quick one pot meal. A plateful of Penne with frilled vegetables and prawns stirred in a spicy tangy tomato sauce. These prawns I have brought from home (like every time) and Maa lightly fried them with salt and turmeric. With the help of the OTG the meal was very quick to prepare. And that was absolute yum and satisfying, after which we were in no mood to get into cleaning spree and finally decided to have some afternoon nap.

The house in now in better shape but still another week’s work is left. I also have brought some plants from my Maa’s beautiful garden which I already have planted. Hope they will thrive and flower soon. As in the blogosphere, I am extremely sorry for being irregular for a long time. I have missed so many of your great posts, a lot to catch in the dashboard. Hope to get back to action as soon as possible.

Here is the quick recipe of the pasta that we all cherished.

Penne in Tomato Sauce with Grilled Veggies and Prawns

(Serves 3)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat Penne: 1 packet
Assorted vegetables cut in thick stripes: 2 cups (I used Carrot, beans, Capsicum, corn, black olives)
Prawns: ½ cup; lightly sautéed with salt
Tomato: 5 medium sized
Garlic: 10 fat cloves
Onion: 1 medium; sliced
Olive oil: 3 tbsp
Cheese: ¼ cup; grated
Chilli flakes:
Oregano
salt

Method:
Cut the veggies and mix with salt and few drops of oil. Place them on a baking tray and grill for 5 minutes at 300 C. keep aside.

In the mean time prepare the pasta according to the package instruction. Boil them in plenty of water with salt and 1 tsp of oil. It should be al dente or firm to bite.

Also at the same time boil the tomatoes with salt for 7-8 minutes, peel and grind them to a smooth paste.

Chop the garlic and olives, keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and put half of the garlic. Once they turn light brown add the tomato puree. Taste the seasoning and let it boil on medium heat till it turns to gravy like consistency. Mix in some oregano, chilli flakes and Keep aside.

Now heat the rest of the oil and add the remaining garlic. Fry till light brown and add the sliced onion. Sauté on medium flame.

Once they are translucent mix in the veggies (except olives), prawns, salt and chilli flakes. Fry for a couple of minutes and add in the tomato sauce.

Let it coat all the veggies and prawns and then tip in the boiled penne. Mix with light hand as you don’t need broken pasta on your plate.

Mix chilli flakes, oregano, olives and adjust the salt.

Give it a good mix. Finally sprinkle the grated cheese and serve hot with some drink of your choice.

We had ours with Sprite.