I love the amazing inspiration I get form my fellow Kenyan foodies for all the recipes I try out. One of my faves is @soni.side.up (you have to follow her guys!!!). She is hella creative, so funny as well and one of my favorite people whose opinion on restaurants shapes where I will or will not visit. That’s how dope she is! I love her very fun, very witty #WouldYouRatherWednesday polls which I always have to be part of! Last week, she had a pasta week, where each day she would either be dining out in Nairobi’s best and hidden Italian restaurants for pasta and also made some of her own at home. Her escapades inspired today’s recipe and made me want to be more adventurous with my pasta and eat more of it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did <3
As always, the video is also available. I am trying out a slightly different style, with more of me infront of the camera and more talking and explanations from me. Watch it and let me know what you think <3
PREP TIME: COOK TIME: SERVES:
Ingredients
For the pesto
A handful of dania
A handful of basil
2 cloves of garlic
3/4 tablespoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of achari (Kez Organics lemon pickle chutney)
For the Mushrooms
2 cups of button mushrooms
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of achari (Kez Organics lemon pickle chutney)
1/2 a cup of dania stems
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Other ingredients
2 cups of farfelle pasta
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
First, we are going to start with the pesto. Go ahead and pop everything into your ingredients into a blender of food processor, and blend for a couple of minutes until its is blended , combined and with a ‘creamy texture’. The video shows this very beautifully<3, do watch it. You can always play around with and mix up several herbs together. The kick that the lemon pickle chutney i.e achari ya ndimu introduced was beyond perfect to balance everything out! I love the combination of basil and cilantro (dania). A pesto comes in handy when you want to make something speedy and delicious, so I make sure I always have a batch in my fridge.
For my readers in countries outside East Africa who may find it difficult to get the achari, two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice will be a great substitute.
Set aside.
Put your farfelle pasta to boil, and once done, run them through some cold water and set aside. We always run the pasta in some cold water after it’s done cooking so that it does not clamp up and stick together. Hatutaki story za pasta ugali hapa, ama? I used farfelle pasta, the bow shaped pasta, just because I find them really pretty. However any pasta would be perfect for this dish.
In a separate pan, add the red onion, garlic and dania stems and cook until softened and fragrant. Add the mushrooms, and more of the achari. I have always spoken about the kez organics habanero chili as my favorite but now I think the lemon pickle chutney i.e achari is my newest favorite. Not only is is perfect with the mushrooms, but it would be excellent with fish and chicken as well. Each jar of the lemon pickle chutney costs 400 bob and lasts a life time! Check out their instagram profile here for their contact details. #BuyKenyaBuildKenya
I went with button mushrooms since they were most readily available when I was shopping however, any kind of mushroom will work just fine. I bout mine from Carrefour at 200bob a punnet. Cook them until browned. Add the cooked farfelle pasta into the pan.
This should be followed by the pesto we made earlier as well, then give everything a quick toss.
Remove from the heat and serve. How fast was that my loves? How easy was that though?
Have you ever eaten something so fast and so greedily that you are thankful no one else is around to see you in your full disgusting, glutonous form? Yup! That was me when I was eating this :DDD. I loved the synergy between the pesto and the mushrooms that was brought about by the achari, that was the common ingredient in both. The peso introduced amazing fresh sauciness and the mushrooms, their full meatiness making this among my top pasta dishes.
Maybe I should have invited Soni over and cooked with her as part of her pasta week, yea? She would have loooooved this <3.
A global dish with a touch of Kenyan goodness. That is how I would describe my achari mushroom farfelle pasta! Do try this out and let me know what you think!
xx
-K
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Hey there! My name is Kaluhi and I love food! Through my blog, I am happy to share with you my self-taught recipes, steeped in nostalgia and the happiest of memories. I hope each recipe you try out is as addictive as the previous one and is shared on a table full of love and hearty laughs!
Utamu tu 😋😋😋
Wacha tu!!!
Very delicious. I shall try it
Dope! Let me know how it all goes
You really are fucking creative!!
Thank you and I do agree! :))))
I’m not a pasta person, but oh my…that looks super yummy. Thanks for this!
You’re welcome love!<3
Never eaten mushroom but your recipe is very tempting
This is the one you should start with! ! !
Great creativity in this. Thanks kalu
<3 <3 <3
for the basil..can i use the one thats already grounded found at the supermarket?
Totally ok love!