Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!
This recipe is for my Creamy Veggie Pasta Bake. It is a selection of vegetables baked with pasta and a creamy white sauce. Even the biggest meat and chicken lover will enjoy this veggie comfort food special! And, to be honest, it is good to have an all vegetarian meal for a change.
This recipe is for my Creamy Veggie Pasta Bake. It is a selection of vegetables baked with pasta and a creamy white sauce. Even the biggest meat and chicken lover will enjoy this veggie comfort food special! And, to be honest, it is good to have an all vegetarian meal for a change.
A Simple List of Ingredients:
1. Butter
2. Plain Flour
3. Milk
4. Salt
5. White Pepper
6. Ground Nutmeg
7. Any Dried Pasta
8. Potatoes
9. Bell Peppers
10. Peas
11. Sweetcorn
12. Carrots
13. Fresh Garlic
14. Black Pepper
15. Cheddar Cheese
16. Vegetable Oil
17. Vegetable Stock Cubes
Bismillah, let's begin!
First, I made the Bechamel sauce which is just a creamy white sauce. I melted three tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan.
Once the butter had melted, I added in three tablespoons of plain flour.
I stirred the butter and flour together, and cooked it over a low to medium heat for two minutes.
I poured in the warm milk, little by little, stirring after each addition - until all the milk was combined.
Next, I seasoned the white sauce well with salt and white pepper.
Finally, I added a pinch of ground nutmeg.
Then, I kept the sauce over a low heat until it had thickened. Make sure you taste it for seasoning at this point too.
Next, it was time to prepare the vegetables. Now, you can use any veggies you like, but I used ..
A large tin of sweetcorn, and a few handfuls of frozen peas
Four peeled and diced carrots and two chopped bell peppers
Three large peeled and diced potatoes
So, once I had prepared all my veggies, I heated a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
I peeled and finely chopped them, and added them to the hot oil.
Allow them to fry for a few seconds or until the smell of garlic hits you.
Next, I added all the veggies.
And gave them a good stir.
At this point, I seasoned well with salt, to taste.
Along with black pepper, to taste.
I mixed well, and then allowed the vegetables to soften slightly over a medium heat.
Next, I crumbled in two vegetable stock cubes.
Next, I added in some water. Follow the instructions of the stock cubes as to how much water to add.
Then, bring the mixture to the boil then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until everything is cooked.
Next, I took ten ounces (283 grams) of dried pasta. I used a mixture of different pastas (spaghetti, rigatoni and farfelle) because I had them all left over. But it's better to use one type of pasta.
Cook the pasta in boiling water according to packet instructions.
Once the vegetable mixture is cooked, it's time to assemble!
First, I placed all my cooked pasta into a large oven dish.
And, mixed in my cooked veggie mixture.
Then, I poured on some of the white sauce.
And, grated on some Cheddar cheese.
Mix that through the pasta mixture.
Finally, I topped it with the rest of the white sauce, and grated on more Cheddar cheese.
The pasta bake was now ready for the oven. I baked it in a preheated oven at Gas Mark 4 for 30 minutes or until ..
.. golden brown and crispy on top!
Allow the pasta bake to sit for about ten minuted before digging in as it will be piping hot! Enjoy!
Wasalaam!
Creamy Veggie Pasta Bake
Ingredients
· 3
tablespoons Butter
· 3
tablespoons Plain Flour
· 1
and ½ pints Milk
· Salt,
to taste
· White
Pepper, to taste
· Pinch
of Ground Nutmeg
· Large
tin of Sweetcorn
· Large
handful of Frozen Peas
· 4
peeled and diced Carrots
· 2
chopped Bell Peppers
· 3
peeled and diced large Potatoes
· Few
tablespoons Vegetable Oil
· 3
Garlic Cloves, peeled and finely chopped
· Black
Pepper, to taste
· 2
Vegetable Stock Cubes
· Water
· 10
ounces (283 grams) Dried Pasta
· Cheddar
Cheese, grated
Method
1. First, to make the white sauce, melt the
butter in a saucepan. Then, add the plain flour and cook over a low to medium
heat for 2 minutes.
2. Warm the milk in the microwave, and pour into
the pan, a little at a time, stirring after each addition until all the milk
has been added.
3. Season well with salt, white pepper and the
ground nutmeg.
4. Cook the sauce over a low heat until
thickened, then set aside until needed.
5. Prepare all the vegetables.
6. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic
and cook for a minute.
7. Throw in all the vegetables. Season well with
salt and black pepper. Allow the veggies to soften slightly over a medium heat.
8. Crumble in the stock cubes, and add water
according to the package instructions. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer
for 30 minutes until everything is cooked.
9. Cook the pasta according to packet
instructions. Set aside until needed.
10.
To assemble the dish, place all the
cooked pasta into a large oven dish. Mix in the cooked veggies, and then pour
on half of the white sauce along with some of the cheese.
11.
Mix well, and then cover with the rest of
the sauce and top with more cheese.
12.
Bake the pasta in a preheated oven at Gas
Mark 4 for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on top.
13.
Allow to cool slightly before serving!
Hello, I have made this dish twice now and both times it has turned out delicious. The first time, it took me a long time to make the white sauce because I'd never made it before. Also, I don't have a microwave oven to heat the milk so I used cold milk straight from the fridge. The sauce was easy to make - I found that it wasn't necessary to vigorously stir the sauce all the time (unlike the couple of Youtube instructional videos which I watched).
ReplyDeleteSince I don't particularly like cheese, I decided to use Mozzarella which of course doesn't have a lot of flavour. To compensate for this, I used a technique learned from Lidia Bastianich which is to brown the potatoes. I cut the potatoes into small thin slices (slightly bigger than a 50 pence piece) and fry them until brown on both sides. They go to the bottom of the oven dish. My oven dish must be smaller than the one you used because I found that 140g pasta was enough. For reference, my oven dish is 24 x 24 x 7cm.
Thanks for this delicious recipe. I will certainly make this regularly in the future. I agree with you it is nice to have a hearty meat-free dish once in a while.
Thank you for all your feedback and tips! :)
DeleteSalaam :)
ReplyDeleteHow long does this recipe take to make?
Wa alaikumus salaam! I would say around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi, just wanted to say thanks for sharing this recipe and making it so easy to follow. I made this today and was delicious. I didn't follow the measurements for the white sauce exactly and it still came out perfect. The step by step by step photos made it so easy to check I was on the right track and have something to compare to.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your feedback! I'm so glad you enjoyed the pasta bake! :)
DeleteSallam beautiful recipe. Is using a stock cube a must?
ReplyDeleteThank you! No, you can leave it out.
DeleteGetting through covid quarantine and making something light for iftaar... i wanted some comfort food that has lots of veggies and this is certainly it. Only 2 hours left untill we get to taste the scrummyness i cant wait!
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel - quarantine plus Ramadan is certainly something different. Really hope the pasta bake turned out well.
Delete