I have another great, quick and easy recipe for you today. This one will be an all vegetarian pasta, probably even vegan though I didn’t check whether the pasta in this dish would be suitable for that. But you could simply sub that for a vegan variety if need be. In short, this post will feature an all veggie pasta dish that will be ready within minutes.
Vegetarian pasta: looks gruesome, tastes awesome!
Many times I’ve explained my love for pasta but it doesn’t hurt to reiterate that now does it? I love the versatility of it. Most of my pastas are the result of cooking sessions that mostly go like this: let’s throw something in a pan and see what comes of it. This one is no exception. I had some leftover veggies in my fridge, bought a handful of extra tidbits and got to work. Oh and did I mention that pastas are the best way of using up a stray zucchini?
Total time: 25 minutes. Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes. Servings: 6 – 8.
Ingredients:
- Your favorite pasta (I used half a bag of Gigli)
- 1 leak
- 250 grams mushrooms
- 1 zucchini
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bell pepper (+ I had some minis leftover so used those up too)
- 1 jar or pesto
- 1 package of sieved tomatoes
- 1 package of tomato puree
- herbs of your choice
- olive oil
You will need two pans to get this going: one large deep pot and one smaller pot for cooking the pasta. Let’s get cooking!
Step 1: boil some water and put in pasta, cook according to instructions.
Step 2: put some oil in your pan.
Step 3: start chopping up your veggies. I usually start with the toughest veggies and simply stir in between stages of adding more veggies. I like adding mushrooms last so they do not disappear in the dish. Make sure you fry up your veggies well before adding more. This is why I like to add veggies as I go along, rather than chopping up everything first. Much more time efficient to be doing that at the same time, rather than chop first and then cook. It took a while for me to build up that confidence, but once I did, I find it saves quite a bit of time.
Step 4: Add some pesto (save some to spare), and your herbs to get the flavor going.
Step 5: Now add your tomato paste and sieved tomatoes. Give it a good stir and heat up on a low to medium heat until the sauce turns bubbly.
Step 6: Turn down the heat. Your pasta should be cooked by now, so drain it and add it to your pan of veggies. Give it a good stir on a look heat for a few more minutes to make sure everything is properly combined.
Step 7: Serve a generous amount on a plate with a dollop of extra pesto on top.
Again, this is not the prettiest looking dish and it doesn’t deserve a Michellin star, but still this is a yummy and easy to make dish. Plus it is so chock-full of veggies that it will fill you right up. But the best part must be the leftovers! This is really great heated up a second day and I always make sure I keep some pasta in my freezer for the quickest, easiest home cooked meal in the world.
How do you like your pasta?
Leave a Reply