Rain, Girl Friend and Coriander Pesto

Not necessarily in that order, but it has been a great end to the week (not to mention the approaching long weekend) . I met Cynthia today for the first time, and it just felt like I've known her for years. (We've made plans to meet up tomorrow at Adoniya; hopefully Aarav lets her). Girl gossip after ages felt so therapeutic and time just flew by. Before I knew it, it was quarter to eight and I realized I had to get home before Masterchef Australia.

On my way home, it started to pour and pour it did! All the way back, my mind was constantly thinking of pasta and I was actually dreaming of the cilantro pesto pasta I had at Egg Factory, Bangalore a few months ago. I knew I had to have this today. This is not authentic and I quickly put together this dinner from whatever ingredients I had at home. (Alright, I just finished drooling over Simon Hopkinson and now Nigella is on TLC making me drool further - it's a purely dessert show today)

For the pesto: (I'm not giving exact measurements here, because I just went with whatever I had)

a bunch of coriander
a few mint leaves
a fistful of cashewnuts
one bulb garlic
dried chilli flakes
some parmesan
and olive oil

Grind all this in a blender, until it becomes a fine paste. Add more olive oil if required.

Cook the pasta (I prefer spaghetti) until al dente; My owl timer was really useful tonight.

In a pan, add olive oil and saute some onions and capsicum on high heat; (I wish I had mushrooms). Add salt. Add the drained pasta and mix through.

Finally add the pesto and mix well. Retain this until the heat spreads through.

Serve the pasta with a good amount of Parmesan grated. Dig in.

This is one of the best ways to finish off the left over coriander and mint.