Herbed Fusilli Pasta With Citrus Dressing

Very light yet filling dinner for two!

Happy new year everyone! May be this dish has a special place in this food blog; for being the last dish I cooked in the year 2012 and the first I posted in the year 2013. 

So this time December 31st passed by with no noisy deal; no new year ball or partying, but just us both with good movie, food and drinks. To say the least, it was kind of fun! 

Well I love pasta (fusilli being my favorite) and probably anything Italian. I prefer it with cream sauce and I can adjust those with dressings, but I cannot handle the ones served with tomato based sauce (I feel it spoils the fun). So, it has been a while since I cooked pasta at home and I thought yesterday was the right time. 

Initially I wanted to cook shepherd's pie, however as the "raw materials" reached late, I went ahead with my own pasta recipe, because this is quick, light and healthy! 

Ingredients

Wholewheat pasta - 2 1/2 Cups (I used fusilli, you may use any other type)

Chicken mince - 1 Cup (as I said the raw materials for the pie reached late but well in time to make paste)

Onion - 1 medium, coarsely chopped

Garlic - 1 medium bulb, coarsely chopped

Dried chilies - 3

Olive oil - 25 ml plus 50 ml for dressing

Lime - 1 large, juiced (or vinegar)

Salt - to taste (when cooking pasta)

Italian herb mix - 2 tablespoon

Preparation

1. Cook the pasta with double the water, 2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of oil. Drain and keep aside.

2. Heat up a sauce pan with some oil and cook the chicken mince, with some salt and turmeric. I even added garam masala to give it some flavor.

3. In a blender, coarsely crush together the onions, garlic and chilies. Keep aside.

Cooking

3. Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the crushed onions, garlic and chilies mix. Fry for a couple of minutes. 

4. Add cooked pasta and mix well to combine. Pour in the lime juice. Stir again.

5. Add the cooked chicken mince, mix to combine. Pour in the olive oil reserved for dressing. Toss to combine.

6. Top with Italian herb mix.

Serving

7. Pair it up with some red wine.