Mimi’s Kitchen Cupboard Mexican Pasta

March 27, 2020
by Mimi Morley Our Recipes
    Here’s a deliciously simple recipe you can cook up with a couple of things from your kitchen cupboard! 
    That paprika you bought 3 years ago and used once… chuck it in! The red pesto in your fridge you got for a pesto stuffed chicken breast recipe you saw in a magazine and only used 2 tsp… add it! People have so many ingredients in their cupboard which will only be used a handful of times, but we’re all for spicing things up! The following recipe is a Mexican style pasta, but you can make it indian with curry powder and chickpeas (or any other pulse!) or any other cuisine you fancy depending on your spices. Or if you don’t have any spices, tomato sauce is just as delicious, just make sure you season it well with salt, pepper and sugar to lift the flavour of the tomatoes.

    Store Cupboard Spiced (or not spiced) Pasta

    Ingredients

    • 1 onion
    • 1 carrot (or leeks, celery and shallots will also work)
    • Herbs if you have any (rosemary, thyme, or dried herbs)
    • 2 tins red kidney beans (or any other tinned pulse such as chickpeas, lentils, butterbeans or anything else you’ve got lying around!)
    • 400g pasta (we normally use around 100g per person) – whatever type you’ve got
    • 2 tbsp tomato puree
    • 1 tbsp ground cumin
    • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tbsp ground coriander
    • a pinch of chilli flakes (or you could use a spice mix such as a curry powder/ras el hanout, or anything else you’ve got. Or omit the spices completely)
    • 1 x 400g tomato passata / 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
    • 1 stock pot (veg, chicken, red wine, beef – whatever you’ve got) or stock cube/powder
    • 1 tbsp pesto (any type)
    • 50g cheese (optional)
    • 150g sour cream/creme fraiche (optional)
    • For the optional salsa:
    • 200g cherry tomatoes
    • 1 tsp mustard (dijon, english, wholegrain, anything!)
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 2 tbsp capers

    Instructions:

    1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with 1/2 tsp of salt. Halve, peel and chop the onion into small pieces. Trim the carrot (no need to peel), halve lengthways, then chop into 1cm wide long strips. Chop into 1cm chunks. Roughly chop the herbs (pull the leaves off the stalk first if using rosemary or thyme). Drain and rinse the kidney beans in a colander.
    2. If you’re making the salsa, quarter the cherry tomatoes, pop the mustard, olive oil and capers in a bowl and season with pepper. Stir together, then add the tomatoes and stir together again. Set aside.
    3. Add the pasta to the boiling water and simmer until tender (see packet for cook time). Once cooked, drain in a colander, pop back in the pan, drizzle with oil and stir through to stop it sticking together.
    4. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a large saucepan on high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and carrot (or whatever veg you’re using), season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 5-6 mins.
    5. Stir in the tomato puree, herb(s) and spice(s), cook for 1-2 mins. Pour in the tomato passata/chopped tomatoes along with the stock pot/cube/powder. Stir to dissolve the stock, then add the kidney beans and pesto, stir together.
    6. Add 100ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer until the mixture has thickened slightly, 5-7 mins. TIP: Add a splash of water if you feel it needs loosening up a bit.
    7. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve in bowls with the tomato salsa on top. Finish with cheese and sour cream if you have any! Enjoy!
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