This pasta dish is my quick and easy one-plate, or in this case one-bowl, food which I will usually make for the family on a Friday night (if we’re not having a take-away pizza night or making the Pizza Pudas from East by West). Sometimes a thick minestrone-esque soup, sometimes a saucy pasta, this dish packs in all the leftover veg in the fridge ready to fill up again at our local weekend farmer’s markets or supermarket shop.

Pasta has always been a firm favourite of mine (even if my first pasta was from a tin of Noodle Doodles in my childhood). In this recipe, you get the pleasure of a belly-filling bowl of pasta while loading up on veggies. These days I always use a gluten-free pasta - favourites for this recipe are a brown rice penne or a lentil-based fusilli to hold the sauce.

Veg-wise I use the basics of carrots, courgette, leek and celery, or sometimes onion, sometimes fennel, and peas from the freezer plus any leftover leafy greens. I rely on a good grater to make it all quick-cook and to make the veg ‘disappear’ a bit into the sauce, which is great for Mahi to pack the veg in without her realising - as currently, she is not into chunks of veg…! If it’s a lunch dish I might keep it more al-dente and crunchy, for evenings I really let the veg soften with a longer, slower cook to make it more digestible which will help for a good night's sleep… I will use a jar of pesto from a brand like Sunita or La Bio Idea - the sundried tomato version or the regular herby pesto which goes in once the veg is cooked. I might add veg stock or homemade bone broth to make it more soupy and/or top it with some tuna chunks or scatter over some grated cheese if the mood takes me.

METHOD

Wash and prep the vegetables according to the ingredients list. If we can't get organic veg then we try to use veg wash to minimise any pesticide consumption. I use a medium-toothed grater to grate everything, you can also do it all in the food processor using the grater attachment for even more speed.
In a very large saucepan - I tend to use a wok - heat the ghee on medium-high heat and start by frying the leeks or onions and fennel or celery for 5 mins, then add the carrots, peas and lastly the courgette (the quickest to cook) and continue cooking for another 10 mins
Meanwhile, as the veg is cooking, bring a large pot of water to the boil, and salt the water if you like. Add the gluten-free pasta and follow the cooking instructions - I find the cooking time is often at least a couple of minutes longer than the packet states - but we also prefer softer pasta than something with a bite.
Drain the pasta when ready, reserving a cup of the cooking water which will be starchy. Add a splash of this to the veggies if needed and continue to simmer...
Once the veggies are tender, add the pasta and a few generously heaped tablespoons of pesto to the veggies. Taste and season before serving.
East by West tip - throw in any parsley or other herbs that need eating and substitute in other veg where necessary to use up bits and bobs.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3-4

1 large courgette, grated

2 carrots, grated

1 leek or onion, finely sliced

1 fennel or 3 celery sticks, finely sliced

1 cup frozen peas

150 g jar pesto

Ghee or your favourite cooking oil

Sea salt and black pepper

250g of pasta - we use gluten-free rice spaghetti or penne, or lentil fusilli

OPTIONAL:

1-2 cups bone broth or veg stock to make it soupy

1 jar of MCS albacore tuna in extra virgin olive oil

Grated parmesan or cheddar, to taste

FOR MORE PASTA DISHES:

NICK-OF-TIME NOSH