Mommy's special pasta

"Kesong Puti Pasta" - my version :-)

I had a dinner date with friends at LA Cafe in Timog QC. Among the food we gorged, I mean ate, is the "kesong puti (cottage cheese) pasta" that, according to the waiter, is the late Doreen Fernadez's favorite. And indeed, it was really nice - it has a taste so finesse, you can savor each of the ingredients in your palate - fresh cherry tomatoes, kesong puti, and basil leaves. The simplicity of the flavor lingered in my palate-memory (if there's such a thing) that I've attempted to imitate it.

Instead of cherry tomatoes, I used the big, plump tomatoes (those as big as apples), and instead of just kesong puti, I added mozzarella (for the simple reason that the kesong puti you get from groceries are too madaya (cheats) - it looks big, but it's actually just the banana-leaves' wrapping that's bulky. The actual cheese you see once all the wrappings are removed are too small, you can perhaps fill 4 small pandesals (Pinoy buns) with it. (I later discovered that the Nestle cottage cheese taste almost the same, and with the same price you get more cheese, and its shelf-life lasts longer.)

Preparing (my imitation) is actually easy.

1. Heat olive oil, then add crushed garlic - the amount of garlic depends on how much garlic-ky you want your pasta.

2. Once the garlic's in (maybe after 20 seconds) - don't let it brown - add the sliced tomatoes. For 300g (spaghetti) pasta, I use about 1/2 kl of tomatoes (you can also use ordinary tomatoes). Add a dash of salt (adjust according to your taste)

3. When the tomatoes are cooked and saucy (the skin easily peels from the meat), add the cheese and basil. Allow it to boil for about 30 seconds (1 minute max) only, since the cottage cheese, when cooked, melts and sticks to the pan. You don't want that, you want the cottage cheese to retain its texture and taste. As I've mentioned, I've added mozzarella in my first attempt.

Voila - my kids loved it! (see picture above)

In succeeding attempts, I've been more adventurous. Once, I made it with 4 different cheese - cheddar, mozzarella, Colby's (Anchor/New Zealand), and cottage cheese; on another occasion, I added canned tuna (see picture below).

"Tuna Pasta"

Now, whenever my kids feel like eating pasta on any (special) occasion, they'd alway request for "Mommy's special pasta..." aaahhhh, music to my ears :-)

PS: Daddy likes Spanish sardines pasta (we tried it at Mary Grace Cafe) .. maybe I will try it soon ....

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