Monday 21 February 2011

Recipe: Veggie Chilli Pasta Bake


One word - yum! I made this on a whim today and it was utterly delicious and really rather good for you.  

Ingredients:
(Wheat Free) Pasta
Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
Leek
Any other bits of veg you've got lying around
Pasta Sauce/Chopped Toms
Soya Mince
Herbs/Spices/Seasonings
A teeny tiny bit of cheese

First off, chop some veggies - I went with a onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 a red pepper, a leek and about 5 tenderstem broccoli shoots (including the stems):


Next pop a pan of wheat free pasta on to boil. The heat up a splash of oil in a medium pan and saute your onion, garlic and leek over a medium heat until soft:

Once they're soft, add your red pepper and some herbs and spices. I added a little salt and pepper, basil, oregano, herbs d'provence, a teeny tiny pink of za'tar, quite a bit of paprika, a little cayenne and some cumin. If you want it more bolognesey, leave out the spices and as always, feel free to sub with whatever your favourite flavours are!


Wondering about the brocolli? Never fear! You need to add it in with your pasta water now!


Now add your soya mince to the pan with the sauted veggies and your pasta sauce/chopped tomatoes. I'd normally use chopped tomatoes in a chilli but as I had no fresh mushrooms in, I decided to use a Gordon Ramsey Wild Mushroom and Mascapone pasta sauce we had in. It's completely up to you though. If you want to make it a little creamier, you could always add a little (soya) milk to your chopped tomatoes :)

At this point, I checked the seasoning and then added my 4 secret chilli ingredients.... want to know what they are? Ok then. 1) Vegetarian Worchester Sauce 2)A sprinkle of Vegetable boullion/stock powder 3)A squeeze of tomato paste (or if I'm feeling naughty/lazy a little tomato ketchup) 4)A sprinkle of vegetable gravy granules.


Looking good! Now you just need to drain your pasta, mix it with your sauce, transfer it to a baking dish, top with a tiny bit of cheese (you don't need much at all!) and pop it in the oven on 180C for about 20 minutes until it looks golden and creamy and lovely! Deeeeelicious!


11 comments:

  1. Ooooh, I LOVE cheesy baked pasta. This looks so satisfying!

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  2. Becky - it's delicious and because the sauce is so rich it doesn't need masses of cheese but it still super creamy! :D

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  3. Oh. My. God. That looks INCREDIBLE! I'd have to use 'proper' mince though - or Dad and the boyfriend wouldn't understand the concept haha :)

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  4. Lily - it's flipping awesome! Hehe you could use pretend mince and just not tell them ;)

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  5. This looks absolutely gorgeous! Definitely bookmarking this and giving it a go, perhaps this weekend. Yum!!

    xxx

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  6. This looks soo yummy! I hate mince generally, I used to like it until I was about 8 then suddenly hated it.. I really want to learn to like it again and this looks like it could be a way to try again...

    x

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  7. Oh it looks lovely - that has given me a good idea for dinner 2nite! I love pasta bake, but haven't made one in years!

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  8. OMG this looks super douper yummy!! I'm keeping the recipe and I'll propably try it, I'm addicted to pasta! :D x

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  9. That looks gorgeous!I'm on the Slimming World diet and the fact this only has a small amount of cheese on is perfect for me.

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  10. This looks so good! I'n not keen on bolognese and this looks like a yummy alternative xx

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  11. Girl with the golden touch - let me know what you think when you try it!

    Rachel - give veggie mince a try - nice mincey texture but without the fat and weird gristley bits! (And it's more economically friendly!)

    Nic - Did you try it? I hope you enjoyed it!

    Stavroula - It's utterly delicious! I definitely recommend it!

    Flab2Fab - It would be perfect as a delicious treat whilst on slimming world - very creamy but not too calorific!

    Sylvieee - it's a lovely way of mixing bolognese up a bit, and adding a few extra spices give it some lovely depth :)

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Your comments and thoughts are really appreciated :) Thank you for taking the time to chat xx