Farm Recipes - Lemon Basil (Kemangi) Pasta

More often than not, we have pasta Italian-style or "Malaysian-Italian" style with the addition of chilli or sometimes, spices.  With our tropical weather, I like a lighter version of pasta - without cream or butter.  There are many herbs and vegetables on the farm and I decided to try something different today so I experimented with this dish.  With the Kemangi, it gives the dish a slightly lemony flavour balancing the "heaviness" from the pasta and parmesan cheese.  I must say I really enjoyed it and if you are on a diet, watching your cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, and other stuff, try this (by the way, I am not the "measuring" kind of cook so bear with me):

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti, Fetuccine or Linguine pasta
• 1 fresh, Terung Bulat (oval Aubergine)
• 2-3 stems of fresh Kemangi (Lemon Basil)
• 4-5 young leaves of fresh Daun Salam (Indian Bayleaf)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• salt
• fine grated Parmesan cheese
• chilli flakes (for those who like it a bit "hot")

Method:
Boil pasta to al dente and drain the water.  Dice aubergine, slice Kemangi and Daun Salam, chop or crush garlic.  In heated olive oil, toss garlic and aubergine until soft. Add pasta.  Turn off heat and add Kemangi and Daun Salam.  Toss them around and salt to taste.  Serve with Parmesan cheese.  Add chilli flakes if you wish.

Based on the ingredients, here's what you feed your body :

1. From Kemangi, you get magnesium and beta-carotene - good for the heart, diabetes, stress
2. From the garlic, natural antibiotic and good for the heart and those nasty bacteria
3. From Daun Salam, good for diabetes, high blood pressure, reducing cholesterol
4. From purple Terung Bulat, vitamin A, C, Calcium,etc. - good for the cholesterol, bones, etc.
5. Pasta - carbohydrates to fuel your body
6. Olive oil - you all know how great this oil is for you

Of course, to get the best nutrition value, get chemical-pesticide free produce.  If you try this recipe, let me know what you think and if you did variations, please share.