Baked vegetable pasta recipe

This deliciously tasty baked vegetable pasta is easy to make and is a great meal to fill up the family. You can use up any vegetables you have in your kitchen but the combination of courgettes, corn, tomatoes and bacon is particularly good. Serve this pasta dish with a crusty loaf or garlic bread. It’s a hearty meal in itself.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 rashers bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 large courgettes, sliced
• 300g ripe tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
• 100g frozen sweetcorn
• 125ml hot vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 200g Fusilli or pasta spirals

Method

1. 1. Preheat oven to 200⁰C/400⁰F/Fan oven 180⁰C/ Gas Mark 6
   2. Heat the oil in a large frying or sauté pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry over a moderate heat for 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Lift out and drain.
   3. Add the bacon and fry until brown.
   4. Add the courgettes, tomatoes and sweetcorn and then stir in the onion and garlic.
   5. Pour in the vegetable stock, thyme and salt and pepper and mix together well.
   6. Cook, uncovered, over a medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
   7. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan with plenty of boiling salted water for 10 – 15 minutes until tender but still “Al Dente”.
   8. Drain the pasta then add it to the vegetable mixture, stirring everything together evenly.
   9. Spoon the pasta mixture into a greased ovenproof dish.
   To make the sauce
   1. Mix together the cheese, cream and egg yolks.
   2. Pour the mixture over the pasta.
   3. Sprinkle the top with the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.