PASTa WITH CARROTS, COOKED RISOTTO-STYLE

Submitted by Tisme

"O.K..... I would never have considered this recipe usually. BUT with the family being on separate diets at the moment this just fitted the bill ...... with everyone. I used both normal and G.F. pasta, in this dish separately.... AND both G.F. and not loved it. Another find from the Weekly Time's, although adapted to G.F. although I am posting as written. NOTES FROM RECIPE-- There are reasons that pasta exists in so many forms: it's partly regional (Italian cities big and small always seem to have a specialty pasta), but it's also practical (certain pastas are best eaten with certain sauces). And a brief over overview. of the recipe posted -- The general rule is that delicate noodles are for delicate sauces while heartier noodles are for heartier sauces. But similar to wine pairing, it's not always that simple. Of course, these are guidelines, not rules, and you can play with combinations as you wish. The way you cook pasta can also vary. Baking pasta in the oven, or cooking it in large pots of water are just two options. Some pasta can even be cooked risotto-style. WHICH PASTA TO CHOOSE Ridged tubes (penne, rigatoni). This is everyone's favourite pasta, a versatile shape that's a nice medium size and holds lots of sauce in its external ridges and internal hollows. Corkscrews (fusilli). Fantastic with pesto, tomato or meat sauces. Like the ridged pastas, the advantage of the corkscrew shape is that it "catches" the sauce. Hollow spaghetti (bucatini). These are essentially very long, thin straws. The classic sauce for these hearty pastas is all'amatriciana. Spaghetti. Spaghetti is perfect with tomato-based marinara and bolognese sauces. Flattened forms of spaghetti - pappardelle, fettucine, and linguine - come a close second. Skinny spaghetti - angel-hair pasta - does best with thinner sauces, such as puttanesca. Butterflies (farfalle, bow-tie pasta). This is perhaps the most fanciful of pasta shapes, best with a light-to-medium sauce or soup where the shape can stand out. Macaroni. Though macaroni has a less-than-exotic image, this is perhaps the most versatile of pastas, good with sauces or baked in casseroles. Stuffed pasta (ravioli, tortellini). Usually filled with cheese, meat, vegetables, or a combination thereof. Tiny pasta (orzo, cous cous). Frequently seen in pasta salads, orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta often found in the Greek lemon-egg soup called avgolemono."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 70 g butter
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 500 g casarecce gemelli pasta (ideally you want a strong, small ) or 500 g fusilli (ideally you want a strong, small )
• pasta, that is not a hollow tube
• 8 medium carrots, peeled, trimmed and diced
• 1⁄2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 leaf from 4 sprigs parsley, chopped

directions

1. Bring the stock to the boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low to keep the stock hot. Melt all but about a tablespoon of the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they begin to brown - about five minutes.
2. Add the uncooked pasta and carrots and cook, stirring often, until pasta is lightly toasted, about five minutes.
3. Add one cup of the hot stock at a time to the pasta, stirring constantly. Wait until almost all the stock has been absorbed before adding more. Continue cooking and adding stock (you may have some stock left over) until the pasta is tender but firm to the bite, 10-15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the remaining butter and the parmesan cheese.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a warm serving dish and garnish with parsley.