Simple Penne Pasta with Mushrooms

With the Lenten season 2015 here, I believe many of you will benefit from some of these simple recipes to be shared on G'Gina's Kitchenette. Many practicing Christians abstain from non-vegetarian food to the extent of eggs and dairy being eliminated from all meals during Lent. These days a lot of people abstain from their favourite foods including chocolates or choice meals. Some even abstain from social networks, etc. While this is admirable, unfortunately I cannot abstain from social networks as most of my work is done online :)!

So for now it is still simple meals and vegetarian food. However I will share some other recipes as well to benefit my readers who are not practicing Lent.

You need:

• 300 gms of penne pasta (I used a whole wheat variety)
• 250 gms of Mushrooms, diced  (you can use any variety, I used smaller button mushrooms)
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Olive oil - cooking variety
• Fresh or dried parsley (1 bunch or 2 tbsp)
• Salt to taste
• Paprika (optional)
• Water to boil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, grated finely

The Make:
Preparation Time: 5 minutes | Cooking Time: 30 minutes| Serves 3-4 adults

1. Bring water to boil in a deep pot or wok and  once on a roll, lower the heat and pop in the pasta. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same wok, drizzle some olive oil and saute the mushrooms for 5 minutes. Pop in the grated garlic and parsley and saute for another 5 minutes. You can also add the paprika and salt at this point.
3. Add in the cooked pasta and toss well. Add in the EVOO and serve hot.

Golden Syrup

Golden syrup is not readily available everywhere but can be used in quite a few recipes. It is a very simple ingredient to make with such limited ingredients I am sure you can find in your pantry at home. I used this syrup for the Gingerbread men biscuits that I made recently. This syrup has a long shelf-life so as long as you follow the instructions well.

You need:

• 100 gms sugar
• 3 tbsp water

Additionally,

• 1/2 kg sugar
• 300 gms boiling water
• 1 sliced lemon (Large or small lemon)
• 1 sterilised jar

The Make:
Cooking time: 45 minutes | Resting Time: 5 minutes | Makes about a medium sized jar
Adapted from Todd's Kitchen

1. In a saucepan, on medium heat, add the sugar and 3 tbsp of water and mix well. Keep stirring till sugar dissolves. The sugar becomes a nice dark caramel colour. This process is similar to the one I did for the Ginger Wine and Mummy's Christmas cake as well with the burnt sugar.

2. Next turn the heat to the lowest and add the boiling water carefully, a bit at a time to avoid spluttering. Stir it well.
3. Add the remaining sugar on medium heat and stir it through until the sugar is completely melted.
4. Lower the heat to the lowest and let it simmer to about 45 minutes and add half a lemon to avoid it from caramelising  any further and preventing any sugar crystals from forming lumps. Do not stir during the 45 minutes.

5. Turn off the heat and take out the lemon. You can consume the lemon as a candied lemon or use it in another recipe.
6. Let the syrup cool down for about 5 minutes only and transfer to the sterilised jar and let it cool down further in the jar without the lid on.
7. The syrup would thicken as it cools down to about the same consistency as that of honey. Use the Golden Syrup as you wish in your recipes like in the Gingerbread men biscuits.
As long as you use a sterilised jar, this syrup would last you for months on the shelf.