ROASTED VEGGIE PASTA PIE…A welcome vegetarian option!
PENNE & ROASTED VEGETABLES IN A PASTA PIE
This is my entry for 3 great blog events…
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‘Enter a Great Recipe Featuring Vegetables and Herbs From Monday October 8 until Sunday October 14’… Here is my entry for the Weekend Herb Blogging Two Year Anniversary.
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Andrea’s GYO (Grow Your Own) that invites you to make a dish that uses at least one item from your very own garden, anything edible, and post about it. I have used sweet basil for this, which grows beautifully in our front yard.
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Coffee & Vanilla’s ‘Vegetarian Awareness Month’ which is a fun way to help others learn about the benefits of vegetarianism. Do visit the VAM homepage for more information. I try and include as many veggies in the kids diet as I possibly can, one way or another, letting them know about the health benefits, nutrition etc. As they say…’Teach ’em young!’
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I put this together with many inputs from here and there. As always, am forever looking for avenues to get more veggies into the kids, one way or another…the happier the way, the better for me!! My sister suggested roasting a bunch of seasonal veggies and tossing them into cooked pasta with a dressing. I thought…why not!! Once I started roasting the veggies, I had a brainwave. Toss them into a pasta sauce first…that’ll disguise ’em. One thing led to another, and everything finally found its way into a pie dish, basil & all……LOOKED GOOD, TASTED GREAT!!
Sweet Basil is an annual or perennial of tropical Asia with spikes of small white flowers and aromatic leave; one of the most important culinary herbs; used in salads, casseroles, sauces and some liqueurs.
Boccaccio’s story of Isabella and the Pot of Basil, immortalized by Keats, keeps the plant in our memory . It was formerly grown in English herb gardens. Tusser includes it among the Strewing herbs and Drayton places it first in his poem Polyolbion.
‘With Basil then I will begin
Whose scent is wondrous pleasing.’
ROASTED VEGETABLES
Ingredients:
Pasta – 350-400gms (penne,fusili…or any short pasta of choice), cooked
Red bell pepper – 1 / chopped
Yellow bell pepper – 1/ chopped
Aubergines – 3 long ones/ chopped
Spring onions – 4 / chopped including stems
Olive Oil – 2 tbsps
Mixed dry herbs – 2 tsps (I used Italian grill seasoning)
Method:
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Put all the chopped veggies in a big bowl. Toss well with the oil and seasoning.
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Turn out onto a foil lined baking tray .
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Grill on high for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes to ensure both sides of veggies roasted.
PASTA SAUCE
Ingredients:
Tomatoes – 6-7/peeled and chopped
Tomato puree – 100ml
Garlic – 5-6 cloves / finely chopped
Onion – 1 / finely chopped
Red chili flakes – ½ tsp
Oregano – 1 tsp
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive Oil – 2 tbsps
Method:
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Put the garlic and onions into a pan with the olive oil. Add the oregano and red chili flakes. Now sauté on low flame for approx 5 minutes till the onions and garlic are soft, and the flavours mature. Make sure the garlic doesn’t brown.
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Add the tomatoes + puree + seasoning. Simmer, covered for 20-25 minutes, until done, and the oil is visible on the sides.
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Cool a bit, and then run the hand blender through it for a slightly smoother sauce. (Works better with kids this way).
WHITE SAUCE:
Ingredients:
Butter – 2 tbsps
Flour – ¼ cup
Milk – 2 ¼ cups (keep an extra ¼ cup on hand)
Cheddar Cheese – 4-5 tbsps /grated (increase or decrease)
Salt to taste
Method:
- Melt the butter in a heavy bottom pan.
- Add the flour and mix in well with a whisk, and cook for 2-3 minutes whisking constantly.
- Add the milk bit by bit, mixing in with the whisk.
- It will thicken once it boils for a while.
- Now add the grated cheese and salt.
- Take off heat and set aside. It will continue to thicken as it stands.
TO FINISH:
Fresh basil – 12-14 leaves/ chopped
Breadcrumbs – ½ cup
- Preheat oven to 180 deg C .
- Take a 9 X 13 glass pie dish.
- Put a layer of ½ the cooked pasta. Top with ½ the pasta sauce. Sprinkle with ½ the chopped basil leaves.
- Put a second layer of the remaining cooked pasta, then the rest of the pasta sauce and remaining basil leaves.
- Spread the white sauce over the top, making holes with a skewer in a few places for the white sauce to seep in.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the dish, and bake for 15-20 minutes till the top in lightly browned.
- Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes in oven, and then serve with a green salad if you like.
Note: This can be put together till the white sauce stage on the day before. Cover tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate. Microwave for 3-4 minutes the next day, sprinkle the breadcrumbs, and bake as above.
Baked with a wonderful golden crust…just waiting to be served!
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
13 Comments
meeso
That does look great! A nice one-dish meal too…I bet it smelled great baking!
The Platypus Chef
Hello,
Thanks for stopping by my site, your site is lovely too. So nice to meet someone else who loves to cook!
I just celebrated my daughter’s 16th Bday and made her a fancy cake, hope you’ll drop by again to see it soon.
This casserole sounds great, I love one meal dishes.
I also love to cook indian meals, I was looking for a Naan recipe, if you wouldn’t mind sharing some of your favorites, I’d love it!!!
bee
this is the perfect party dish, and healthy too.
Shweta
Thanks for visiting by my blog. You have a beautiful blog! Very nicely done, and I am totally amazed by your baking skills 🙂 I’ll keep coming back 🙂
swati412
REally looks yumm! Have to make it…will keep checking ur site regularly.
Do visit me at http://sugarcraftindia.blogspot.com
A kitchen scientist & a white rat hubby!!!
hi, first time here..wow!..u are one class a baker!!..great stuf fu have got here..willd efinitely come back for more
A kitchen scientist & a white rat hubby!!!
hi, first time here..wow!..u are one class a baker!!..great stuf fu have got here..willd efinitely come back for more
Kumudha
visiting for the first time, this blog has wonderful recipes with lovely pictures.
Kalyn
So delicious and so many of my favorite flavors in this! I love the idea of using some eggplant in the sauce. Thanks for helping celebrate the two year anniversary!
Andrea
Roasted vegetables with a baked pasta sounds so delicious! Thanks for a yummy entry for Grow Your Own!
Coffee & Vanilla
Thank you for your entry!! Please check back for the round up shortly… Margot
Coffee & Vanilla
Thank you for your entry!! Please check back for the round up shortly… Margot
Anonymous
Hi deeba,
thanks a Lot for the recipes. i everyday look into your webpage for new recipes.
for me you are just next to sanjeev kapoor. truely amazing.
i just have a doubt with regard to the pasta/pizza sauce.
. Most of the recipes in BBC good food or other international cook books they call for canned tomatoes.
Here in India we hardly find the canned tomatoes. But yes we get fresh tomatoes round the year. So can we replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes in any pasta or the pizza sauce recipe.
Please advise.
Thanks,
Maya