Foodie ‘party’ to save our pasta dishes

It is okay to play with your food. This rarely goes wrong when having fun in the kitchen, one of the ways to get out of your mundane daily meals.

One of these is the favoured starch, pasta. Pasta dishes are family favourites, they are comfort meals and known for their quick and easy recipes. Iconic South African pasta brand Fatti’s & Moni’s is taking an exciting leap and concept of a parody political party called Freedom Party to inspire people to cook delicious new pasta meals.

The hilarious launch happened in the beautiful Houghton Hotel, attended by the party’s influencers, media personalities and chefs on Wednesday evening, 5 May.

Just like political parties, the brand’s “cabinet” was carefully selected to deliver the foodie needs of the republic. The party president is Metro FM host, singer and Idols SA judge Unathi Nkayi who will be steering the ship of helping create magic with pasta.

It was announced that Minister of Lifestyle is Lesego Semenya known as LesDaChef.  The chef said he will be delivering South African flavours infused with other cuisines, on brand to his style of cooking.

“Thinking out of the box when it comes to pasta, you don’t have to do bolognese or a lasagna. You actually can go crazy with them.”

And this was the case with the idea of the manifesto launch menu by himself. Starters were farfalle chicken, with bacon and Caesar salad, very similar to a pasta salad, quick and easy to make. “People always assume that making pasta must be heavy, that is not the case,” Semenya says.

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If you didn’t know, Caesar salad was created by an Italian immigrant working in Mexican and American restaurants. Semenya has built a strong online community of home cooks and was more than happy to continue sharing his tips.

The second starter of the night was a creamy elbow macaroni with amasi (cultured buttermilk) and exotic mushrooms. As in the mains the pastas were cooked al dente, still firm to the a bite.

One of the mains was butternut and baby spinach gnocchi. The gnocchi was not the traditional potato pasta, rather the shape of it and dried. The dish’s sauce with onion was melt in the mouth and the vegetable perfectly cooked, with a finishing of parmesan cheese.

A pasta dessert? Well, of course. Pasta is never associated with any sweetness, but LesdaChef cleverly incorporated the spaghetti in the custard pudding really well. It was well balanced, not too sweet, with the spaghetti adding a necessary texture. The pudding was topped with strawberry sauce, caramelised honeycomb and a chocolate sauce.

The cabinet also includes celebrity chef and fine dining restauranteur David Higgs. He was were given the matching portfolio of Minister of Fine Dining, as he is the former executive chef of The Saxon, owner of Marble and Saint restaurants.

He said: “The whole idea is to give fine dining ideas, five-star dishes that you can make in the comfort of your home.”

His go-to pasta recipe with cocktail tomatoes: Cut them into half, drizzle olive oil, put them in the oven at 180°C. When they are soft and juicy, add them into fresh pasta and more olive oil and enjoy.

Lastly, the Minister of Health is Phuti Moabelo, the mother of twin boys aged one who will be dishing out recipes that please the taste buds but won’t affect the waistline.

It’s going to be pasta galore on Fatti’s & Moni’s social media pages every Wednesday as the ministers share their weekly recipes.