Farfalle (aka bowtie pasta)

So I give myself an A for taste, and a C+ for presentation...hahaha. I made this pasta, just 'cause I really wanted to make it. I opted for a vegetarian topping to compliment it, 'cause I figure I should eat more veggies--this is never a bad thing. You can make a nice pasta salad, or a hot dish--it's a great pasta for eating either hot or cold. The pasta itself isn't heavy, so you don't feel like a pig for eating a ton.

I decided to go vegetarian this time around, and made a tri-pepper sauce with feta and broccoli. I wanted there to be a lot of texture (to make up for the lack of meat; otherwise, my teeth would get bored).

::gathering my raw materials::

The Ingredients:

2 cups farfalle (from the package, or homemade)
1 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups chopped peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)
1 diced tomato
1/4 cup chopped onion and garlic
4 oz crumbled or chopped feta (or whatever cheese you like--i just felt like having some thing sharp to give the sauce a nudge in the right direction)
1/4 cup pasta sauce cut with a little bit of water
salt and pepper to taste



For sauce: I was afraid that the broccoli wouldn't cook well enough with the peppers, so i boiled it first. Unfortunately, I think this was one mistake I made, as they came out looking limp in the final sauce. Anyway, set those aside and sauteed all my diced veggies with about a tablespoon of olive oil.



I added my cooked broccoli, pasta sauce, feta, and seasonings.





Everything simmered and came together...;:sigh:: of course, the feta disintegrated, so although it smelled wonderful, it was not visually pleasing to the eye!




For the pasta:
The pasta recipe itself is pretty simple (and once again, must thank Tyler Florence, as I use his pasta recipe every time). Of course, it helps to have a pasta press, so I strongly recommend you get one if you like to make your own pasta. The plus side of homemade pasta is that it cooks super quickly--like 6-8 minutes, versus 10-15 (depending on the thickness, etc).

Farfalle is made by rolling out long sheets of pasta, using a pastry wheel to make your "fluted" edges, cutting the strips into squares, and pinching the center. That's it. I made it yesterday, so the pasta had a chance to dry, and the "pinched" centers would stay together in the boiling process.

In a medium pan, boil water with a bit of cooking oil and salt. Once bubbling, add your farfalle and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until tender. (longer time, if from the package)



Once done, strain and rinse. Top with the sauce and enjoy!



Haha, again although not visually pleasing to the eye, it was packed with flavor from the feta cheese and the peppers. Again, you can enjoy this pasta cold or hot. I would definitely like to try it again as a cold pasta salad dish.