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Here is a lovely main meal that we think you might like to make at home.
Delicious roasted vegetable pasta
Preparation: 20 minutes (if using fresh vegetables)
Serves 4-5 people.
Cook: 25 mins
The great thing about this recipe is you can choose any vegetables you like – and if you aren’t a big veg fan you can blitz it all up at the end with a hand blender or food processor so that you get a smooth tomato sauce and you can’t see the veg. It’s really delicious either way. If you are a vegetable fan you can leave the veg in bigger chunks – yum!
Ingredients
- 300g/10½oz pasta of your choice
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- Carton/bottle of passata (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil or sunflower oil
- salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp freshly grated cheddar cheese or parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), to serve
- 2 cloves of garlic – crushed/minced
- 1 onion
- Sweetcorn – half a tin
- Frozen peas – 2 handfuls
- 250g/9oz frozen roasted Mediterranean vegetables OR a selection of fresh veg of your choice. 4 or 5 mushrooms sliced, 1 courgette chopped into chunks, half a red pepper, half a yellow pepper, half a green pepper – all peppers can be torn or cut into smaller pieces, ¼ of a butternut squash – peeled and cut into small cubes, a few broccoli trees, a few cauliflower trees. You can use up any veg that you have.
Instructions
Please ask an adult to help you with the oven, boiling water for the pasta and using a knife to chop vegetables.
- If you are roasting your own vegetables, heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Deseed the peppers, halve them and then either cut or break them up into large chunks. Wash the courgettes and trim the ends off, then cut into slices about ½cm thick. Put all the other vegetables except for onions, sweetcorn and peas onto a lightly greased baking tray (using some of the oil). Season well with the salt and pepper, drizzle with a little oil. Roast in the oven for 25 mins until lightly browned.
- Ask a grown up to help you finely chop up the onions. In a large saucepan, gently fry the onions in some oil and add the crushed garlic. Fry for about 3 or 4 minutes, making sure they don’t go brown.
- Add the tin of tomatoes and some passata (if using) to the saucepan. You may not want to add all the passata – see what consistency you want. If you want more sauce, add in more passata. Stir well. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait for your roasted vegetables to finish cooking.
- When your roasted veg is cooked, add them to the tomato sauce. Or this is the time to add your frozen roasted Mediterranean vegetables if you are using them. Cook the tomato sauce gently for about 5 minutes.
- Cook your pasta – check the packet for how long to cook it for.
- Now to choose – do you want a chunky veg sauce? In which case you are almost ready to serve. Go to step 7. If you want a smooth sauce, use a stick blender (or pour sauce carefully into a food processor – take care it will be hot) and blend the sauce until smooth.
- Add your sweetcorn and frozen peas and simmer the sauce for 4-5 minutes to cook the peas. The pasta should then be ready.
- Take care when draining the pasta – it will be boiling. You will need an adult to help you with this. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir.
- Serve topped with the cheese of your choice. Really quick and easy, very healthy and extremely delicious!
Top tips
You can add some mixed herbs or paprika to the vegetables when you are roasting them. Sprinkle the herbs on before putting the veg in the oven. Or why not try adding a chopped chilli to the tomato sauce when you add the roasted veg?
You could make it look pretty by adding a sprig of basil or parsley to the top of your finished dish. Why not serve with some hot garlic bread.
