Roast Mediterranean Pasta Bake

I came up with this recipe to feed my week night pasta craving, whilst trying to minimise the carbs !! The result was a yummy, low fat pasta bake that has breadcrumbs, cheese and pasta, all the evils of the dieting world. I also tweaked the recipe when cooking for my parents last night for more full on flavour, for those not so wasitline concious.

Serves 2


Ingredients

• 100g of dried penne pasta
• 1 aubergine, sliced roughly
• 1 red pepper, sliced roughly
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced roughly
• 2 red onions, quartered
• 1 courgette, slice roughly
• 50g feta cheese crumbled
• 1 slice of wholegrain bread, blitzed
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and Pepper

Tomato Sauce (basic sauce recipe, can be tweaked for a plutter of dishes)

• Tinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 diced onion
• dried oregano
• shredded fresh basil leaves
• pinch sugar
• salt & pepper
• Chilli flakes (optional)
• Splash of Balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Place the chopped vegetables in a roasting tin and add the fresh thyme, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix together until all evenly coated.
3. Roast in the oven for 20 mins turning occassionally for vegetables to be cooked evenly.
4. Meanwhile put the pasta in a large saucepan of generously salted boiling water and cook according to packet instructions.
5. To make the sauce, add the chopped onion and garlic to a  saucepan along with the dried oregano and chilli flakes. Mix on low heat stirring occassionally.
6. Add the tinned tomatoes, sugar, salt pepper, and balsamic and white wine vinegars, bring to the boil and reduce heat to simnmer for 20 mins.
7. Add the fresh basil and roasted vegetables, stirring well to coat all vegetables with the tomato sauce.
8. Drain the cooked pasta and add to the tomato and vegetables.
9. Add the crumbled feta and mix well, careful to not break up the feta too much
10. Transfer to a baking dish and top with the bread crumbs
11. Bake in the oven for 15 mins, until a crispy coating develops on the top.
12. Enjoy with some sneaky garlic bread and/or a crisp green salad.

Replace the feta for some mozerella for those not so anal on the calorie-count and increase the pasta amount. Also mix the breadcrumbs with some grated Parmesan cheese