I was given a packet of Radiatori Pasta and it sat in the pantry eyeing me balefully for a few months while I tried to come up with an interesting way of serving it. Walking round my supermarket the other day a brain wave arrived and I decided to put a Malaysian twist to it. Radiatori a la satay!

Peanuts are a good, simple, friendly ingredient that carry some great health benefits (as long as they arent riddled with sugar). Just a of a cup of peanuts supplies 35% of our RDA of manganese, a mineral which is important in fat and carbohydrate metabolism, calcium absorption, and blood sugar regulation. Peanuts are also a great source of tryptophan which is important for the production of serotonin. Serotonin is one of the key chemicals involved in mood regulation. When depression occurs, a decreased amount of serotonin may be released from the nerve cells in the brain. Tryptophan could elevate serotonins antidepressant effects when we have higher levels of serotonin in our blood. Tryptophan is also great when it comes to helping fight insomnia.

I made my satay sauce first, which entail heating the oil in a wok and frying the onion, garlic and chilli over a light heat until the onion is cooked. Then add the sugar, soy sauce and peanut butter and stir it through. Once nicely mixed gradually add the coconut milk, a little at a time. Once its all in and smoothly blended put it to one side.

Next I fried the spring onions, garlic, baby corn and garlic in piping hot vegetable oil and then added these to the satay sauce.

Finally I cooked the pasta al dente and strained it and poured the hot pasta into my mix. I let these gently cool while a broke leaves free of a gem lettuce and used them as cups. Yummy.

Ingredients

Satay
1 can organic coconut milk
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar (with the molasses)
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 small chopped onion
1 clove chopped garlic
tablespoon sunflower oil

Vegetables
12 spring onions
1 bok choy
200g baby corn on the cob
1 clove chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Pasta
500g Radiatori pasta