- Serves 4 - Takes 1 hour 15 min (including 15 min chopping time)-
Gather together…
2 leeks chopped into 2cm lengths (wash them well in a colander after you have chopped them - washing after chopping removes the soil from the inner layers).
1 large courgette chopped into thin half-moons.
2 big handfuls of mushrooms, thinly sliced and then the slices halved.
2 peppers (1 red, 1 yellow), de-seeded and roughly chopped into chunks.
2 cloves garlic, chopped (or 2 tsps of lazy garlic).
2 onions, thinly sliced (to save time day-to-day, I keep a big box of onions I've chopped ahead-of-time, in the freezer, so I throw in 4 handfuls of those).
3 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil (to drizzle over the veg).
350g (4 cups equivalent) wholewheat fusilli pasta twirls (fusilli works well with the chunky veg).
1 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil (to add to the pasta water).
1 small (200g) tin of sweetcorn.
2 big handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved.
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar.
4 large handfuls of finely grated cheese.
Serve with…
Garlic bread - shop bought, or make it quickly yourself by toasting halved paninis ( 1 panini per hungry adult), brushing the cut sides with olive oil and crushed garlic / lazy garlic, then slicing.
Get cooking…
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C (180 C fan) or gas mark 6.
2. Boil a kettle full of water, tip it into a BIG pan (preferably with a pasta-draining insert) and boil another full kettle to ensure that you have enough water to cover the pasta.
3. On one or two large (but shallow) oven trays put the two chopped leeks, the chopped courgette, the two large handfuls of chopped mushrooms, the two chunkily chopped peppers, the 2 cloves of peeled and chopped garlic and the two thinly-sliced onions. You can squash it all onto one tray if that's all you have, but the veg will cook more evenly if it is spread out over two trays.
4. Drizzle the chopped vegetables with the 3tbsp of oil and stir well.
5. Roast at the top / middle of the oven for 15 min.
6. Meanwhile, cook the 350g (4 cups) of fusilli pasta in the big pan of boiling water on the hob for 20 min - add a drizzle of oil to the pasta water to stop the twirls sticking together.
7. After the first 15 minutes of oven-time is up, add the 200g of tinned sweetcorn and the 2 handfuls of halved cherry tomatoes to the oven tray(s). Stir well - make sure any vegetables which are browning at the edges of the tray(s) are pushed to the middle when they go in the oven again, so they don't burn.
8. Roast the veg in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
9. Remove the roasting tray(s) from the oven.
10. Drizzle the 3tbsp of balsamic vinegar over the roasted vegetables, then add the DRAINED cooked pasta to the oven tray(s).
11. Mix the pasta into the vegetables on the oven tray(s) to coat the pasta in the delicious roasting juices.
12. Put half of the pasta/veg mix into a large oven proof dish (e.g. a 3L pyrex dish) and cover with 2 handfuls of the grated cheese.
13. Put the rest of the pasta/veg mix into the oven proof dish and top with a final layer using up the rest of the grated cheese.
14. Bake the pasta dish to heat it through in the middle of the oven for 20 min - check that it isn't burning after 10 minutes. Cover with an ovenproof lid (any saucepan lid will do balanced on top).
15. Meanwhile toast the paninis and rub the cut-sides with oil and garlic. Or follow the packet instructions if using shop-bought garlic bread. .
16. This Pasta Bake re-heats well the next day in the microwave (add 1 tsp water), but the pasta burns if you use the oven to re-heat it, even if you cover it. If you have no microwave, it is still delicious to eat the leftovers cold the next day.