Recipe : Jazzed up Tagliatelle Aglio Olio (Vegan Option possible)

We had a lovely trip to Italy in September and the food there was outstanding. While most people visiting Italy shop for shoes and bags and clothes, I was in the market for cold meat, pastas and cheese. Peck in Milan is heaven on earth for someone who loves to cook. Their produce is so good and of such high quality and they do an amazing job of packing cheese in a way that it doesn't spoil when you carry it on a regular flight back to your home country.

This was a dish that I rustled up on a lazy Sunday, when I really didn't want to cook too much and it can be easily made using ingredients available in your own kitchen. I just added the meat, veggies and cheese into the same dish to make it a well balanced one pot meal.

By skipping the meat in my recipe, you can adapt this for vegetarians and to turn it vegan, just avoid the cheese (but remember to use vegan pasta) and try to cut all the ingredients to the same size for uniformity.

Ingredients :
500 gms pasta (I used tagliatelle, you can use any flat pasta, or even a fusili)
2 - 3 tsps olive oil
10 - 12 cloves garlic chopped (depending on your taste)
2 tsps chilli flakes
200 gms cold meat chopped in cubes (I used mortadella, but you can use any available cold meat that you have
200 gms mushrooms cubed
2 red peppers cubed
salt to taste (remember to adjust for the salt in the cold meat and cheese)
cheese to garnish (I used a lovely wine infused pecorino, but regular parmeggiano reggiano will do)

Method :
Boil the pasta in a pot to your required level of doneness.
In a wide pan, fry up your cold meat till done, remove and keep aside.
Fry the mushrooms until cooked and keep aside.

Take 2 tsp olive oil in the hot pan and brown the garlic in it, then add the chilli flakes.
Lightly saute the red peppers in this and then add the meat and mushrooms.
Stir well, adjust salt to taste and add the cooked pasta to the pot and mix well.
Serve hot, garnished with grated cheese.

Tip:
If you want to add any additional herbs, add them in just before the chilli flakes.