Today I present to you an easy penne pasta recipe which can be made super-quick and includes the health benefits of tomatoes from homemade arrabbiata sauce.
Kids love pasta as it is fun to eat and looks great. We are not going to use ready made sauces in this recipe and hence it can be served to toddlers as well.
Pasta is a staple food in traditional Italian cuisine and has made its place in Indian food lover's heart as well. Pastas are made out of durum wheat.
There are many varieties of pasta available worldwide. In this recipe, we will be using penne pasta.
Penne pasta is cylindrical in shape. It has a very useful design to hold the sauce and veggies which we want to serve the kids.
I try to include pasta with soups, salads and veggie pasta preparations for variety to kids. You can refer to the vegetable clear soup with broccoli and carrots served along with pasta.
Do you know that tomatoes are regarded as functional foods as it provides much more than the basic nutrition. They are fantastic source of lycopene, folic acid and vitamins (A and C) which help in many metabolic activities. Tomatoes also helps to maintain healthy skin, improved vision and strong bones due to presence of Vitamins A, K and lycopene.
The ready-made sauces reduce the overall cooking time and give a bright color to pasta. But they are not healthy as they have high amounts of preservatives and salts.
The homemade sauce prepared today takes maximum 15 minutes to prepare, is easy on stomach and give more genuine flavor. The pasta sauce for this recipe is very tasty and bright. We will be using fresh ingredients like tomato, beetroot and onion along with super healthy olive oil.
In short the recipe calls us to blanch the tomatoes, make a sauce, mix all together and serve with a generous amount of cheese. Simple isn't?
Penne pasta recipe with homemade arrabbiata sauce - preparation method:
To make the sauce: Blanch the tomatoes as mentioned in the preparation method and peel it. Puree and sieve to get the seedless paste.
To cook pasta: Boil pasta with salt as per the instructions given in the package. Drain the cooked pastas.
Heat a pan with oil. Add onions, beetroot and garlic followed by chilli flakes. Once onions are well sauted, add in the tomato puree and mix the herbs, sugar and salt. Mix well for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and mix everything together for 4 to 5 minutes. Grate cheese on top and serve.
You can also plate the cooked pasta and top it up with sauce and cheese.
Notes:
- Whole wheat pasta is the healthiest option to make pasta recipes for children
- I have added beetroot to ensure the bright red color and improve the nutrition value. You can always skip the beetroot for this recipe
- The preferred option of cheese for pasta is parmesan but any commercially available cheese like Amul, Go cheese etc will work
Hope the little clients will love this healthy penne pasta recipe with arrabbiata sauce. Do give your feedback in the comments section below after trying out at home.
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Is your little one fond of pasta? How do you make the pasta at home? Is there any instant method you try? Kindly share with me.