Recipe: 3-cheese veggie packed pasta bake
With 2 of your 5 a day, this tasty wholesome bake is the perfect midweek meal
With 2 of your 5 a day, this tasty bake from Gousto’s Everyday Favourites is perfect for mid-week and sees an old classic, transformed into a wholesome meal that can be cooked by anyone, for everyone without artificial flavours.
Pack your pasta sauce with courgette before layering up with not one but three cheeses to create a midweek dinner with a difference.
SERVES 2
INGREDIENTS
– 15ml balsamic vinegar
– 1 can chopped tomatoes
– 125g cherry tomatoes
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 35g grated Italian hard cheese
– 1 tbsp tomato paste
– 1 vegetable stock cube
– 10g basil
– 40g mature cheddar
– 1 courgette
– 2 garlic cloves
– 125g mozzarella
– 150g tortiglioni pasta
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 240ºC/ 220ºC (fan)/ 475ºF/ Gas 9
- Boil a kettle
- Meanwhile, peel and finely chop (or grate) the garlic
- Add the tortiglioni to a pot of boiled water with a pinch of salt, bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 8-12 min or until cooked with a slight bite. Once cooked, drain the tortiglioni and re-boil a kettle
- Meanwhile, chop the courgette into quarters lengthways, then slice finely. Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the sliced courgette with a pinch of salt and cook for 4 min or until beginning to soften.
- Meanwhile, dissolve the Kallo vegetable stock cube[s], dried basil, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste and 1 tsp sugar in 100ml boiled water – this is your stock.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half
- Once the courgette is beginning to soften, add the chopped garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the stock to the pan with the chopped tomatoes and halved cherry tomatoes and bring to the boil over a high heat. Season with a pinch of salt and a generous grind of black pepper and cook for 3-4 min further – this is your sauce
- Meanwhile, grate the cheddar cheese. Drain and tear the mozzarella into rough bite-sized pieces and chop the basil finely, including the stalks.
- Add the drained tortiglioni to the sauce with the chopped basil. Give everything a good mix up until fully combined. Add half the pasta to an oven-proof dish, then top with the grated cheddar. Top with the remaining pasta, torn mozzarella and grated Italian hard cheese and put the tray in the oven for 5-10 min or until all the cheese has melted – this is your veggie pasta bake
- Serve the veggie pasta bake topped with the reserved chopped basil and a grind of black pepper. Enjoy!