Rotini pasta with white sauce

Rotini pasta is prepared and then enrobed in a freshly homemade creamy white sauce. Simple and tasty pasta kids will love this.

Ingredients:

For pasta:

• 1 cup – Rotini pasta
• 1/4 cup – Green peas

For white sauce:

• 1 tbsp - Unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp -  Maida / All purpose flour
• 1 cup - Milk (add more depending on the consistency that you want)
• 2 tbsp – Mozzarella cheese (any cheese of your choice)
• 1/4 tsp – Oregano and basil (dry Italian seasonings)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation method:

Making of white sauce:

1. Heat butter in a pan, once butter starts melting add maida/all purpose flour and reduce the flame. Saute till it starts releasing butter from the sides of the pan and at the same time do not burn maida.
2. Add milk little by little and stir continuously so that no lumps are formed. Once the mixture is a smooth paste, add Cheese, salt, pepper, oregano and basil; mix well and cook for a minute or so(do not cook for long as it will start to thicken). Add more milk if you want thin white sauce.
3. Switch off the flame and transfer it into a bowl for using it in pasta.

Making of pasta:

1. In a deep pan, heat water with a few drops of oil and bring it to a boil. Add pasta along with 1tsp salt and let it cook for 10 minutes, add green peas at this time and cook along with pasta until it turns soft and firm. Now check the pasta and drain excess water using a colander; keep it aside.
2. Take a mixing bowl, add cooked pasta and white sauce; mix well. Check for salt and pepper if needed add some at this stage. Sprinkle little cheese on top and serve hot.
    

Notes:

• If the white sauce becomes lumpy, pass it through a sieve to get rid of the lumps.
• Do not over cook the white sauce because more you cook more thick it will become. We need our sauce to be thin (little watery) in texture.
• You can also cook green peas separately in a pan and mix it with pasta and white sauce.