Recipe: Fresh Pear and Curry Pasta

Bonjour! It's been awhile, but then I haven't been cooking much. Or at least not cooking anything new and different. And I didn't want to bore you with repeated recipes. Also, I've been trying to sort out my life the last couple of days, because I just got a new job! No, not a teaching job. But still, it's a pretty huge promotion. I'll even have my own assistant. Yay me!

Anyways, I got this absolutely 100% totally delicious recipe from my aunt, who made it for me a couple of weeks ago. I figured now was the perfect time to try it, because with just me and my dad in the house, I could feel free to make it as spicy as I liked.

Not only is the recipe really quite easy and super scrumptious, it is also vegetarian! Now normally I am all about the meat (and to be honest I was quite tempted to throw in some chicken or pork in this recipe, which you totally could if you're not into vegetarian), but I decided to stick with the original intention. Plus I knew from when I had it at my aunt's house that it was super filling, even without any meat.

But on to the actual cooking! First step is to saute up some onions. I used a red onion because that's what I had (plus it adds some more colour to the finished dish), but you could do whatever you like. Next, throw in the garlic and curry paste (I would recommend spicy over mild for this dish, but that's just me) and mix together for a couple of minutes. They should look something like this:

Next comes some tomato paste and honey. Once you add the honey, be prepared for it to start bubbling like mad. I totally didn't expect that, although I suppose I should have. Anyways, it was quite startling. After a few minutes, add some chicken broth and bring to a boil. Keep it boiling until you've reduced the liquid to less than 1 cup (depending on how saucy you like your pasta, you can reduce it less that this. It's up to you!). Since this will take about 15 minutes, now's a great time to start cooking your pasta.

When the sauce is reduced, throw in some thinly sliced pear wedges and cook for 1 minute. Then add in chopped Roma tomatoes and cream. At the last minute stir in some fresh chopped cilantro.

When the pasta is done, pour the sauce over the noodles and toss gently. Serve immediately!

Here's the full recipe:

Fresh Pear and Curry Pasta (Recipe from Joanne Christensen)

Ingredients;
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp curry paste (Patak's in the best! And I would definitely recommend spicy, not mild)
1 tsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp honey
2 cups chicken broth
1 unpeeled ripe pear, sliced in thin wedges
2 Roma tomatoes, chpped
2 Tbsp cream
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Pasta for 2: rotini, bow ties, or shells

Directions;
1. In a frying pan over medium heat, saute onion in oil until soft.

2. Add garlic and curry paste and stir 2-3 minutes.

3. Add tomato paste and honey and stir another 2 minutes.

4. Add chicken broth, increase heat to medium high and boil gently, reducing liquid to less than 1 cup. Start cooking your pasta while sauce is reducing.

5. Add pear slices to sauce and cook for 1 minute.

6. Add tomatoes and cream and stir another 2 minutes.

7. Stir in chopped cilantro.

8. Pour sauce over pasta and toss gently.


Enjoy :)