For a quick and easy meal all you need to do is go to the deli. Buy your favourite dip and some other ingredients that would go with it as well as some deli pasta to whip up Geoff Jansz’s Deli Dip Pasta.
Ingredients
- 125g container of favourite dip (Geoff used French onion dip)
- 3 slices of marinated capsicum
- 1/2 cup of ham, diced
- packet of pasta
- parsley, chopped for garnish
Method
Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions. Check the pasta by removing a strand from the pot. Pasta that is ready should be limp but ‘al dente’ – literally ‘firm to the tooth’. Remove the pasta pot from the heat and use a colander over the kitchen sink to drain the pasta. Remember to save one cup of the pasta water for the sauce.
Tip: Do not rinse cooked pasta under running water – it removes flavours from the surface of pasta. Olive oil can be poured over the pasta to help keep it separated.
Tip the dip or pate into a heated frying pan and pour in the pasta water to dilute it a bit and turn it into the pasta sauce. Stir over a high heat and then add the capsicum and ham. Continue to stir until heated through. Add the cooked pasta and mix it all together. Garnish with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Serves 3 to 4.
Alternatives to dip could include: soft pate, any sort of spread or flavoured cream cheese or salsa.
Further information
Geoff Jansz runs his own cooking school in Bowral, NSW. Classes are held for only 25 people at a time, run for 4 1/2 hours and cost $165 per person. Phone: (02) 4862 2899 during business hours for more information.